New Baby
by FictionWriter91
Summary: Set at the end of Season 3. Shortly after Nick and Jess break up, Jess finds out she is pregnant with his child. Shenanigans ensue while Jess finds a way to tell him, but the ultimate question she has above all is: Will this change everything?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my very first fic for New Girl Fandom. I've been binge watching the show this month, and I wanted to share this idea. Please be kind! I hope you like it. The only thing I ask is when/if you leave a review, please don't guess what I'm going to do next. It kind of spoils any surprises I might have for you guys. I apologize if this story idea has been written before as I know it could be a popular one. Happy reading!**

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Jessica Day knew something was up when her monthly pal didn't show up on schedule. She was currently sitting in the loft bathroom stall wondering exactly how things had gotten to this point. She took in a deep breath and followed the instructions on the box. Then she got out of the stall and set the stick on the sink while sitting on the floor hugging her knees. Her mind was racing. How had this happened? They had been so careful. What was he going to say? What would he do? How was this going to work? Suddenly, there was a crash and cursing from the outside of the door. Jess had made sure she locked it to avoid getting interrupted, and someone had clearly walked into it thinking it was unlocked.

"What the hell?" Schmidt's voice said through the door. "Who is in there?!"

"Go away, Schmidt," Jess called.

"What are you doing in there? You better not be using my products!" he said emphatically. Jess rolled her eyes. As if she would even want to use his so called products.

"I'm not touching anything that's yours," Jess replied.

"Well then...what are you doing?"

"It's a bathroom, Schmidt. What do you think I'm doing?" Jess asked, exasperated.

"You've been in there longer than usual to do what you need to do. Something is wrong," Schmidt insisted.

"Oh my God, Schmidt, just go away!" she shouted. There was a loud huff from the other side of the door, but no more words were said. Jess gripped her face in her hands. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't even know if she'd be that great of a mom. She was hosting a dance that night, and the students were already apprehensive about it. If she couldn't help them to feel better, then how could she help her own child feel better about something? She knew she was making it bigger in her mind than she should be. She wished Cece was around to talk her down, but she was at work.

"Jess?"

Winston. Of course.

"Can't a woman get some peace around here?!" Jess shouted, clenching her fists.

"Is Ferguson in there with you? I can't find him," he went on.

"No," Jess said loudly.

"You okay in there?"

"If I wasn't okay, I would tell you," Jess told him. "I really, really would. Please leave now."

"Okay."

Jess heard his steps walk away. She knew it was well past the time the box had mentioned, but she was afraid to look. This would change so much.

"Come on, Jessica Day," she whispered to herself. "You can do this." She reached for the stick, squeezing her eyes shut while she brought it in front of her. Shaking and feeling sick, she opened her eyes.

...

"What is the emergency?" Cece asked, coming into the loft. Schmidt was pacing.

"Jess has been in that bathroom for twenty minutes with the door locked. That is abnormal for her," he answered.

"Did she say anything?" Cece questioned, feeling concerned. She chose to ignore the fact that he noticed this type of thing. Schmidt shook his head.

"She just told me to go away."

"Well, it is the bathroom, Schmidt," Cece sighed. "She's also doing this dance tonight, and I know she said she was fine, but I don't think she's really fine with the whole breaking up with Nick thing."

"But...she can cry in her room," Schmidt pointed out, confused. Cece rolled her eyes and pushed past him, marching to the bathroom. The door was ajar.

"See? She's not even in there," Cece gestured. They looked in Jess's room as well, but it was empty.

"I did not see her leave," Schmidt said, feeling even more confused.

"Jess?!" Cece shouted. There was no answer. Schmidt went back to the bathroom, looking for evidence. He didn't find anything. He met Cece in the hallway.

"Now I'm concerned," Cece said, pulling out her phone. She sent a text to Jess while Schmidt stood there racking his brain for what could be wrong with Jess aside from the whole Nick thing. Cece heard the faint ringtone from Jess's phone, but she noticed Schmidt did not.

"Hey, can you go check the bar?" she asked him. "She may have gotten past you."

"Highly doubtful."

"Just do it," she ordered. Schmidt obeyed. Once he was gone, Cece pushed open Nick's bedroom door. Jess was lying on his bed and clutching one of his hoodies.

"Hi," she said tearfully.

...

"Have you seen Jess?" Schmidt asked Nick, who was wiping down the bar.

"No," he answered. He tried to limit his thoughts on Jess right now because he still cared for her, and it hurt to think about them not being together.

"I think I've been sent on a wild goose chase," Schmidt sighed, sitting down. Nick stared at him.

"For what?" he asked.

"No idea," Schmidt replied, shaking his head.

"I'm confused," Nick commented.

"You and me both," Schmidt muttered. Nick didn't push it any further. He wasn't sure he wanted to know anyway.

"So, are you really okay with the whole Cece/Buster thing?" Nick asked.

"Do I look okay?" Schmidt countered. "He's a child."

"He is young," Nick agreed.

"I don't see what she sees in him."

"Of course you don't. You're not Cece."

"You're not helping," Schmidt said irritably.

"Drink?" Nick asked.

"Hit me," Schmidt answered, sighing.

...

"What's going on?" Cece asked, sitting down on the edge of Nick's bed. Jess sniffed hard, and a few more tears leaked out. "Jess?"

"I'm pregnant," Jess answered. Cece felt as though time had stood still for a moment. She took in her best friend clutching Nick's clothing and just knew.

"It's Nick's," she said. Jess nodded.

"Yea," she responded.

"Oh boy," Cece said, blowing air out of her lips. "Did you just find out?"

"Yea."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I don't want to tell anyone else yet," Jess told her.

"It stays between you and me," Cece promised. "But you have to get out of this room or else they might figure it out."

"Okay," Jess agreed. She sat up slowly, releasing Nick's hoodie. They both went over to her room where Cece finally hugged her tightly.

"It's gonna be all right," Cece promised.

"What do I do, Cece? Nick is gonna freak out," Jess lamented.

"He definitely will at first, but he also will come around," Cece pointed out.

"What if he doesn't? We're not even dating anymore. How is this going to work?"

"You can talk about it with him after you tell him," Cece encouraged.

"I don't know what I want," Jess said, her head sinking into her hands.

"Do you...want the baby?" Cece asked, wincing inside. It was a stupid question to ask, but she asked it all the same.

"Of course I want the baby!" Jess exclaimed.

"Okay, okay," Cece said, holding up her hands. "I just was checking."

"What a stupid question to ask me," Jess said.

"I know," Cece nodded. "So what's the plan for tonight? You have this dance..."

"Oh my God, the dance," Jess moaned. "I'm such a mess."

"We'll all help," Cece declared. "We will help you get through it."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course! Come on. We can't be late. Try not to think about this for the evening, and when it's over, we can talk for hours about it, okay? We will figure out what to do," Cece promised. Jess hugged her again.

"Thank you, Cece," she said into her shoulder. She could put it out of her mind for one evening, right?

...

Nick was going to the dance to support Jess. He knew this was important to her. He had hurried home to change when he stepped on something sharp and, in natural Nick style, he fell flat on his face on the floor with a high pitched shriek. After regaining his composure, he saw what he had stepped on.

"What the?" he asked, picking up the box. Then, his eyes widened until he was sure they would pop out of his skull. Pinching the box with two fingers and holding it out in front of him, he stepped out of his room. Winston had already left with Jess and Coach. Schmidt was going with Nick. Cece happened to return at this particular moment to grab something Jess had forgotten. She saw Nick and froze.

"What the hell is this?" Nick demanded. Both Cece and Schmidt stared at the pregnancy kit box in Nick's fingers.

"It's a pregnancy test," Schmidt said, recovering.

"Why did I find this on the floor of my bedroom?" Nick demanded. Cece knew she had to act before Schmidt put it together with Jess being in the bathroom too long.

"It's mine," she said quickly. She was positive she heard Schmidt exhale every last bit of air he had in his lungs from shock.

"What?" Nick asked.

"What?!" Schmidt freaked at the same time.

"Why was it in my room?" Nick asked her. Cece thought quickly.

"I came out of the bathroom with it this morning, and Winston was coming down the hallway, so I panicked and threw it into your room. I forgot to go back and get it," Cece lied. Nick narrowed his eyes at her, and Cece prayed her lie wasn't evident on her face.

"You...you...you're...oh my God," Schmidt spluttered. Cece regretted this lie immediately. It would possess Schmidt all night now.

"That's right. Me and Buster are having a baby," Cece said.

"Buster! Oh God..." Schmidt moaned, gripping his head. Nick handed her the box back, and she took it. Nick was looking at her funny.

"What, Nick?" she asked.

"I don't see a glow," Nick answered. "Isn't that a thing with pregnant women? They glow?"

"I'm still early in the pregnancy, Nick," Cece sighed. He didn't look convinced. Schmidt came back from his room at this point.

"Buster?!" he shouted again. "Buster!"

"Yes, Schmidt, Buster," Cece nodded. Schmidt ran off again.

"He's not taking this well," Nick noted as the bedroom door slammed.

"I gotta get this bag to Jess. You deal with that," Cece said, pointing. Nick nodded.

"Fair enough," he agreed. Cece hurried out of the apartment wondering just what exactly she had done.

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**I try to update weekly. I have been having some personal stress the last two weeks, so I haven't been motivated to write anything. Writing this chapter was a big accomplishment. I hope you liked it. I apologize for the cliffhanger. I tend to do that quite a bit. Do you think I should continue? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**You have no idea how thrilled I am to see such positive reviews! I have been feeling insecure about my writing lately and terrified of getting flamed like on some stories I've read :S I love that you took the time to leave me feedback. I hope this chapter is just as good as the first. Happy reading!**

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Jess was telling Coach he could take the hat off when Cece came crashing into the room.

"We have to talk," Cece said, yanking Jess away. They went to an abandoned classroom.

"What's wrong?" Jess asked.

"Nick found your pregnancy test box in his room, so I said it was mine," Cece blurted out. "They think I'm having a baby with Buster."

"Oh no," Jess said.

"I know," Cece agreed. "It was so bad, but I didn't want them to guess it was you. I knew Schmidt would figure it out if I didn't say anything."

"Thank you," Jess said. "But...how are we going to handle this?"

"I don't know, and Schmidt is freaking out," Cece sighed.

"This night is a disaster," Jess moaned.

"No, no, no! It's fine! It's fine, Jess," Cece promised. "Come on. We can do this." They walked back to find Nick and Schmidt had arrived and were standing with Coach and Winston. The other teachers were standing there looking desolate. They were very against attending the dance.

"Okay," Jess said, "time to start this dance!" She noticed Schmidt staring at Cece and ignored it. They reached the gym doors only to find it bolted shut.

"What?" Jess asked, confused.

"I'm out," one teacher said. One by one, they all bailed. Some offered some mumbles of excuses, but the rest just fled.

"Why is this happening?" Jess asked, feeling tearful again. She couldn't understand. It was just a dance. What was so hard about that? Cece gave the others a meaningful look while comforting Jess and calming down the students who were getting upset.

"We have to help her," Nick said to the group as Jess reassured the students it would be okay. The others groaned except Coach.

"This is not my scene," Schmidt argued.

"It's Jess. This means a lot to her, and we need to help her. All her chaperones just bailed. Come on guys," Nick cajoled.

"All right. I'm in," Winston said. All eyes were on Schmidt now.

"Fine," he sighed.

"We're men!" Nick shouted. "You need men for this job, not boys. Men!"

"Yea!" the others hollered, pumping their fists. "Men! Men! Men!"

"Well, the goon squad is ready," Cece said as Schmidt tried to open the door. He only succeeded in hurting himself.

"Ice. I need ice!" he shouted. Cece rolled her eyes as she left and returned with a tire iron, breaking off the lock. She smirked at their stares.

"Yay! We're back on!" Jess cried. The students filed inside, and her friends awaited her instructions for chaperone duty. Jess avoided eye contact with Nick. She was grateful that Coach was taking charge and giving out orders instead of her. She just knew she'd end up blurting it all out, and now was not the time or place.

...

Schmidt was feeling annoyed. He had gotten into a childish name calling event with a child, and he felt like he was back in school himself getting picked on. To top it off, he couldn't stop thinking about Cece having a baby with Buster. Oh, the humanity! How was this even happening? He cursed himself for ever screwing up his relationship with Cece to begin with. This mess wouldn't be happening. He found Winston hiding in the men's room, a gang of giggling girls were hovering outside the door as he pushed his way in.

"What is happening?" Schmidt asked as he forced the door shut amidst squeals of protest and "Winston!" being called out.

"I don't know, man. It's the heat. I attracted the wrong attention!" Winston replied., wringing his hands.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but there is a mob waiting outside for you."

"I can climb out that window," Winston said, pointing.

"I have a problem that I need to talk to someone about," Schmidt interrupted.

"Is it gonna be a long talk? Cos that might work," Winston said.

"Cece is pregnant with Buster's child," Schmidt threw out there. Winston took a second before it fully hit him.

"What?!"

"I know! I'm freaking out!" Schmidt cried, resting his hands on the countertop of the sink.

"Cece's pregnant," Winston said in awe. "Damn."

"What do I do? I don't even know what to say to her. I have no right to say anything after what I did to her."

"You're right about that," Winston agreed.

"But this is insane! He's a boy!" Schmidt said, outraged.

"Schmidt, breathe," Winston encouraged. "You can't freak out on her."

"I know, I know, I know."

"WINSTON!" girls' voices shouted outside the door. It soon became a chant.

"Oh, God," Winston shuddered. "Look, I have to split before they bust the door down. Just try not to think about it right now." He took in a deep breath, preparing to be accosted as soon as he pulled the door open.

"Oh, okay," Schmidt said as Winston yanked the door open and dove out. "I'll try not to think about Cece carrying someone else's child right now!" The door slammed behind Winston, leaving Schmidt staring at himself in the mirror.

...

The rest of the dance went terribly until Jess found the culprit-a student. Once things were fixed, the night got a little better. She couldn't stop thinking about the baby inside of her, though. What was Nick going to say? What would he do? She didn't want him to get back together with her because of the baby. It didn't make sense. They weren't right for each other. They had decided that together. She was lost in thought as she bent down to pick up discarded trash. The others had stayed to help clean up too, which she was grateful for. She could see Cece texting, and she saw Schmidt glowering at Cece's phone as though it was the mortal enemy, which it probably was Buster Cece was texting.

"It was a good dance, Jess," Nick said, coming up to her. Jess felt awkward suddenly.

"Thank you," she smiled. She hoped he couldn't tell. He gave her an awkward smile back.

"So how come Buster boy didn't come help, huh?" Schmidt asked Cece. "Oh, that's right, cos he's a boy not a man."

"He was working," Cece answered, giving him a sharp look.

"He shouldn't be letting you lift a finger," Schmidt insisted. "You are carrying his child."

"Please don't start," Cece said, giving him a meaningful look.

"Say what now?" Coach asked. He was the only one out of the loop. He looked back and forth between them all.

"Yup, I'm having a baby," Cece said. Coach gaped at her.

"Can we not do this here?" Jess asked.

"But...how?" Coach asked, ignoring her.

"Like it always does, Coach," Cece replied, scoffing.

"Clearly your boy toy doesn't understand how to do it properly," Schmidt threw in.

"Oookay," Cece started, but Jess grabbed her wrist.

"Not here!" she shouted, making everyone stare at her.

"You okay, Jess?" Nick asked.

"Just stop harassing Cece, okay? So she's pregnant. It happens. It can happen to anyone," Jess said adamantly. "Can we please just go home now?"

"But I just..." Schmidt started.

"It's so shocking..." Coach began.

"Is Buster the father?" Winston mused.

"I don't understand babies," Nick threw in.

"ENOUGH!" Jess bellowed, making them all jump. She was shaking a little. She couldn't let Cece take this heat any longer. "Cece is not the one pregnant, okay? I am."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Jess?" Schmidt asked, looking at her shocked.

"Not now," Jess answered, pushing past them and hurrying for the door. She didn't want to see their faces. She didn't want to hear what they had to say. Most of all, she did not want to see Nick putting two and two together.

...

Everyone was hovering outside of Jess's bedroom door, not knowing what to do next. After Jess had left the school, no one knew what to even say.

"Just to clarify," Schmidt said. "You're really not pregnant, Cece?"

"No," Cece answered, annoyed. Winston looked over at Nick, who had his hands folded and pressed against his mouth. He knew he was thinking.

"Maybe you should go in there," Coach said to Cece. "I mean, you're a girl. She won't rip your face off."

"She's not ripping anyone's faces off," Cece said, exasperated.

"I can hear you," Jess said from inside her room, making them all flinch.

"Jess? Can we talk?" Cece asked.

"No," Nick said, cutting her off. "I need to talk to her."

"Nick, I don't think that's a good idea," Cece started.

"I'm going in," Nick said, opening the door against Cece's wishes. He shut it behind him, facing Jess, who was sitting on her bed with her ankles crossed.

"Hi, Nick," Jess said. She had been crying. He moved to sit beside her.

"I just have one question," he said. "Well, more than one actually depending on what your answer is, but I'll start with one."

"Okay," she nodded.

"Am I the father?" he asked. He watched as she closed her eyes and nodded. He felt his heart begin to race then. He thought he could handle this. Who was he kidding? Of course it was his baby. They hadn't been broken up that long, and Jess wasn't the cheating type.

"So, what are we gonna do?" he asked after a moment. She looked at him then.

"I don't know, Nick. What should we do? This is going to be hard."

"I mean we could..." he started.

"No," she stopped him. "Getting back together is not the solution here."

Nick closed his mouth, feeling a little hurt. Did she not realize he still cared a lot for her?

"Then I guess I'll be here for you as a friend and as the baby's father. That's it," he finished.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You don't have to be sorry. These things happen."

Jess didn't know what else to say. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he put his hand on top of hers.

"I'm here for you," he promised. "For all of it."

"Thanks, Nick," she said, her voice muffled. They could do this together. They didn't need to be a couple to have a baby. That's what she had convinced herself to believe anyway.

"I'm right across the hall if you need me," Nick said, patting her hand and getting up. He was feeling suffocated suddenly.

"Okay," she said quietly. He left, going into his room and closing the door. He put his hands behind his head as he starting mouthing "Oh my God!" to himself. He grabbed his pillow off the bed and put it over his face.

"Ahhhh haha! AHHH!" he shrieked, the noise muffled by the pillow. He lowered it, staring at his bedroom door. Jess didn't come in. He knew she needed him to be strong, but he was totally freaking out right now. Him as a father? A father?! He sat down on the floor and leaned against the end of his bed, burying his face into his hands. He was so not ready for this.

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**I love hearing your feedback :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for your continued support! I couldn't stop laughing as I wrote this chapter, so I hope it's as amusing to you as it is to me. I'm in love with writing this story! Don't worry, I will eventually get to the Nick and Jess confronting their feelings for each other part. For now, I'm still writing about the baby until chapter 5/6. Happy reading :)**

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Over the next couple of days, Nick and Jess were involved in an almost too polite state with each other. Now, it was morning, and Schmidt, Coach, and Winston were standing back and watching Nick pull out Jess's chair for her and Jess thanking him as though her life depended on it. The two of them were eating breakfast but kept smiling at each other in a very awkward and kind of strange way. Whenever Jess would look down or away, Nick's face got contorted into the so called "turtle face" that Jess had fondly named.

"This is weird," Schmidt said.

"I'm not really sure what I'm watching here," Coach agreed.

"Do you think that maybe they have forgotten about the baby?" Winston asked. Coach and Schmidt turned to stare at him.

"Are you kidding me?" Schmidt asked.

"I'm just saying. One of them should be freaking out. I had my money on Nick," Winston shrugged.

"You have a point," Coach mused. "They're treating each other with kid gloves."

"I think they need to have their blow up with each other about their feelings for having a baby and move on from it," Winston said. "I mean, I know they're scared. Look at Nick's eyes and Jess's hands."

They all looked. Indeed, Nick's eyes were slightly more bulged than normal and flicking all over the place, not focusing on one thing for very long. His mouth also kept twitching. Jess's hands were in her lap twisting over and over again. Schmidt tilted his head to see her feet under the table vibrating too.

"Oh they definitely need to talk," he commented.

"So what's the plan?" Winston asked.

"I think we need to convince them of their own feelings first and then to tell the other they're freaking out," Coach said.

"Hey, guys," Cece said, coming into the apartment.

"Cece!" Jess shouted, jumping to her feet.

"Cece!" Nick cried, knocking his chair backwards. They both rushed to her, and Jess hugged her tightly while Nick patted Cece's arm. Cece's eyes showed confusion and discomfort at this.

"Um, hi?" she said.

"So good to see you," Nick said.

"I'm so glad you're here," Jess added.

"What is happening?" Cece asked.

"They are transferring their weirdness with each other onto Cece," Winston said, intrigued.

"Enough! You're smothering the poor woman," Schmidt said, intervening.

"Can we talk?" Jess asked Cece.

"Okay," Cece nodded as Jess pulled her down to her room. Schmidt kept a hold of Nick so he wouldn't follow.

"What is wrong with you?" Schmidt asked him once Jess's door closed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nick answered, taking his arm back from Schmidt's grip.

"You're acting weird, man," Coach said.

"I'm not."

"Dude, it was so weird in here," Winston argued.

"I said hello to Cece. What's weird about that?" Nick asked, shrugging. The three of his friends stared at him.

"You can talk to us, Nick," Schmidt said.

"There's nothing to talk about," Nick dismissed.

"Nick," Winston started.

"I said there's nothing to talk about!" Nick shouted, racing for the door. Schmidt sighed when it slammed shut.

"He's definitely freaking out."

...

"I'm freaking out!" Jess said to Cece. They were sitting on her bed.

"Finally," Cece responded. Jess cocked her head at her.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Babe, you've been acting so weird since you told Nick. The two of you are acting afraid of each other almost."

"No, we're not," Jess denied.

"Yes, you are. It's weird. Nick never smiles that much," Cece said. "But anyway, I knew you were freaking out, so tell me what's going on."

"I keep thinking of myself as a mother, and I don't know if I can do it."

"Jess, you're going to be an amazing mom," Cece reassured her. "You're such a great teacher. You're amazing with kids. You will be just fine."

"But what if I'm not?"

"You will be."

"What about Nick? I don't want him to teach our child that banks are out to get us. There is a lot of things I don't want Nick to tell our child. I'm worried about his perception of the world sometimes. Okay, a lot of the times."

"Nick will be just fine. You'll grow into this together. Don't forget that a baby is a baby. They don't start talking for almost a year, so you have that long to convince Nick to not teach your baby weird stuff."

"Some babies can talk early," Jess argued.

"Jess! It will be fine," Cece said. "You have us too, remember? We will help."

"Oh God," Jess moaned. "My child is going to adopt Schmidt's fetish with body cleansers or Winston's craziness about cats or Coach's inability to talk to girls."

"Aw," Cece said, touching her heart. "There's nothing weird about me they'll get. I'm flattered."

"I have to go to my appointment with Sadie today," Jess said.

"Are you going alone?" Cece asked.

"I was going to ask Nick, but I don't know," Jess sighed.

"I can't really see Nick in a room filled with feminine products. His head will probably explode," Cece nodded.

"But it's his baby too. He should get to see the ultrasound."

"It's up to you, Jess," Cece told her. Jess hugged her legs, thinking. She wondered what Nick was thinking right now.

...

"I'm going to be a father, Tran. A _father_," Nick said to the elderly man beside him on the bench. "I can barely look after myself let alone a baby. What am I doing? How did this happen?"

Tran said nothing but kept looking at Nick.

"You dirty dog, you. I know _how_ it happened," Nick laughed. "I just mean _ why_ did this happen."

Still no response.

"No, I disagree. I don't think it was meant to be," Nick shook his head. "Jess and I broke up. It was awful and heartbreaking, and I couldn't deal with it. I still can't deal with it. Now we're having a baby! It's ridiculous."

Tran blinked.

"I didn't say the baby was ridiculous. I mean the whole process is ridiculous. How can two broken up exes have a baby together?" Nick asked. He rubbed his face hard. Talking to Tran always helped, but today he just wasn't feeling it. His phone rang then.

Jess.

"Aw, man," Nick said. He was afraid to answer it. Even though they had been smiling at each other and doing nice things for one another, they hadn't really fully talked since she told him she was pregnant.

"Hey, Jess," he said, wincing.

"Nick, I'm going for an ultrasound, and I'd like you to be there," Jess said.

"Oh...okay," Nick said, feeling his heart pound. An ultrasound? Where he'd see the actual baby? Oh boy.

"I mean, it's okay if you don't want to be there, but it would mean a lot if you were," Jess rambled.

"I...I'll be there," Nick finished.

"Okay. Sadie's office at three."

"Got it."

Nick hung up and clutched his phone with both hands. Tran calmly looked at him.

"I'm not freaking out!" Nick shouted in response, jumping to his feet and starting to run. "I'm not freaking out!"

...

Cece found the boys while Jess was getting ready for her ultrasound.

"Well?" Schmidt asked.

"She's freaking out," Cece answered.

"I knew it!" Winston fist pumped.

"That's not really something to be excited about, man," Coach commented, lifting a brow.

"I was right, that's what I'm excited about. I'm gonna be an amazing cop," Winston sighed.

"It was plain as day that they are freaking out," Schmidt said, exasperated. "So, what's the plan?"

"For what?" Cece asked.

"To get her to talk to Nick about this."

"I think Nick has to admit it first before they can truly talk about how they're feeling," Cece said. She looked around then. "Where is Nick anyway?"

"He ran away," Schmidt answered.

"Go get him," Cece ordered. Schmidt jumped to attention.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, charging for the door.

"And you two," Cece said to Coach and Winston. "No funny business."

"What would I even do that would be considered 'funny business'?" Coach asked.

"Just don't," Cece warned, going back to Jess. Coach turned to see a gleam in Winston's eyes while he rubbed his hands together.

"Oh no," Coach said, getting alarmed.

"I smell a praaaank," Winston said in a singsong voice.

"No," Coach shook his head. "You heard the woman. No funny business."

"I wonder if I can get Sadie in on it," Winston murmured to himself as he walked to the front door.

"Wait, Winston!" Coach hollered, chasing after him. "No pranks!"

...

Schmidt eventually found Nick at the bar sitting in a booth. He slid in beside his friend.

"Hey, Nick."

"I'm freaking out, Schmidty," Nick sighed, clutching his beer.

"I know," Schmidt nodded.

"I am not father material, you know? Look at my father."

"The fact that you're aware of how your father was and how it affected you means you won't be anything like your father," Schmidt told him.

"But what if it's in my DNA, huh? What if I am doomed to suck at being a father despite everything?" Nick asked.

"If you weren't scared, I'd be concerned," Schmidt said. "A little bit of fear sometimes isn't always a bad thing, Nick. Yea, you're having a baby. It's a baby. They're fragile and small and innocent."

"Not helping, man," Nick interrupted.

"My point is," Schmidt went on, ignoring him. "You learn as you go. Babies don't come with a manual. You figure it out, and you're not alone, man. You have Jess. The two of you can do this together. You're not doing this by yourself."

Nick pondered this for a moment.

"You're right," he finally said. "I'm not doing this alone." He stood up.

"Where are you going?" Schmidt asked.

"To the ultrasound appointment. I'm gonna go meet my kid," Nick grinned.

"That's my boy!" Schmidt said proudly. Nick hurried out of the bar and to Sadie's office.

...

"He's not coming is he?" Jess asked. She was in the chair in Sadie's office waiting for the ultrasound to start.

"I don't think so, sweetie," Cece answered sadly, rubbing Jess's arm.

"Good news!" Winston shouted, bursting into the office.

"Oh my God!" Jess shrieked, yanking her legs off the stirrups and trying to cover herself up.

"Winston!" Cece shouted angrily.

"You ain't pregnant!" Winston cried gleefully, looking back and forth from Jess to Cece.

"What?!" Jess yelled. Sadie came charging in then.

"I told you to get out," she said to Winston. "This is not funny, and I am in no way a part of this."

"Oh, you're a part of this, girl," Winston chuckled.

"No, I'm not," Sadie said firmly.

"Wait, so...I'm confused," Jess said. "Am I pregnant or not?"

"Winston thought it would be funny to prank you and say you're not pregnant," Sadie glared at him. "He tried to get me in on it, and I refused, so he came in here on his own."

"I said no funny business!" Cece shouted, getting up and intimidating Winston.

"Come on it was a little bit funny," Winston tried.

"Winston!" Coach shouted, entering the room panting just then. "No!"

"Why are you here?" Cece demanded.

"I was trying to stop him, but the idiot was too fast and managed to lose me," Coach said, out of breath. "Plus, he threw my keys into a dumpster."

"Out! Everybody out!" Sadie commanded loudly.

"Jess!" Nick shouted. "I'm here!"

"Nick?" Jess asked, craning to see him.

"You got this buddy!" Schmidt cried from behind him. Sadie looked like she was going to have a stroke.

"ANYONE WHO IS NOT CECE OR THE FATHER GET OUT!" she screamed. She looked at everyone, who was staring at her. Winston, Coach, and Schmidt slunk out of the room muttering apologies.

"Now," Sadie said calmly, smoothing her shirt. "Are you ready to see your baby?"

"Okay," Jess nodded. She felt a little afraid of Sadie in that moment, but she put her legs back into the stirrups, and Nick stood behind her head.

"I'm gonna go too," Cece said, patting Jess's hand and giving her a knowing look. Sadie started the procedure as Cece walked out of the room. Within moments, they could hear the whooshing of a heartbeat.

"There's your baby," Sadie smiled. "I'd say you're about five weeks along, Jess."

"Oh my God," Jess whimpered, clutching Nick's hand. She started to cry a little. It was just so beautiful.

"It's beautiful," Nick echoed her thoughts.

"Your baby is right about here," Sadie said, pointing to the very small object in the image. "I'll give you guys a moment." She smiled at Jess and left them alone.

"That's our baby," Jess whispered.

"I'm freaking out, Jess," Nick blurted out. He came around so she could see him.

"You are?" Jess asked.

"Yea. I'm scared to be a father. I don't know if I can do it, but we have each other and are in this together, so I think we can do it," Nick finished.

"I'm freaking out too, Nick," Jess told him.

"Really?" Nick asked, surprised.

"Yes!"

"I thought you were really happy about this."

"I am! I'm also terrified of being a mother, but you're right. We are doing this together. We can share our feelings and help each other through this," Jess smiled. It was genuine this time, not forced or awkward. Nick beamed back.

"We are gonna be the best, screwed up parents this kid will ever have," Nick declared.

"Well, I don't like to say 'screwed up,'" Jess started.

"That's our baby, Jess," Nick cut her off, squeezing her hand. He looked back at the screen, but Jess kept looking at him. He was displaying some mature thinking here, and it made her glad. They held hands as their baby's heartbeat sounded around them.

"Can we see?" Schmidt asked, sticking his face into the door. Winston, Coach, and Cece were behind him.

"Get in here," Jess said, waving her hand. They all came in carefully.

"Oh, wow," Coach said.

"It's beautiful," Winston sighed happily.

"My godson," Schmidt beamed.

"You guys," Cece said, tearing up.

"Oh, don't you start cos then I'll start," Coach said, getting wet eyes.

"If you start, I'll start too," Schmidt choked.

"I'm so happy!" Winston cried, bawling openly.

"Group hug!" Jess ordered. Everyone moved in to hug her and Nick, and Jess caught his eyes. Not only did they have each other, but they had their somewhat crazy friends for help too. Everything was going to be just fine.


	4. Chapter 4

**I did a slight time jump here, but you will see why at the end. Thank you for your continued support! This story makes me smile as I write, and I hope I can keep writing the characters well as the story moves along. I'm excited for what's next! Happy reading :)  
**

* * *

**11 Weeks Later-Summer**

"What do you mean, you haven't registered for your baby shower yet?" Schmidt asked Jess, astounded. She was sitting at the table and doing her best to ignore him, but he was persistent.

"Because I'm only 16 weeks pregnant," Jess answered.

"That means you have only 24 weeks left to plan the perfect baby shower," Schmidt huffed. "Technically about 18. You don't want to have your shower right at your due date."

"I thought someone else planned the baby shower for me?" Jess asked, confused. Schmidt clamped his lips shut. He had forgotten about that part.

"Also," Jess added. "The fact that you know how many weeks I have left kind of weirds me out."

"Well, I do research," Schmidt started.

"And the other fact that you're wanting the perfect baby shower concerns me too. Are you secretly a woman?" Jess asked, knowing it would irk him.

"I care about our baby, okay?" Schmidt snapped.

"'Our' baby?" Jess asked, alarmed.

"Yes! The baby is the loft's baby. The baby belongs to all of us," Schmidt said firmly.

"I _strongly_ disagree," Jess said adamantly.

"I'm the godfather, so..."

"We haven't even decided that yet, Schmidt," Jess cut him off.

"Right," Schmidt said pretending she's right. He winked. "Gotcha."

"Are you planning our baby's shower without me?" Coach asked, coming in then.

"Oh, not you too," Jess moaned.

"Yes, I am. Your ideas are terrible," Schmidt told Coach irritably.

"How is a basketball party terrible?" Coach demanded.

"Are you even hearing yourself? It's a baby shower not some party for hooligans," Schmidt snarked.

"What would you do if it was a girl?" Jess asked, curious. She couldn't help herself.

"It's gonna be a boy," Coach argued. "There's so much masculinity in this loft that it will have rubbed off on your fetus."

"Okay, ew," Jess said, wrinkling her nose. "That's just wrong on so many levels."

"You can't do a basketball party for a girl anyway," Schmidt threw in, gleeful.

"That's some major gender inequality right there!" Coach said, indignant. "But if it was a girl, I'd do a ballerina party instead."

"And what, invite a bunch of famous dancers here?" Schmidt taunted.

"Okay, that's enough," Jess intervened. "Neither of you are allowed to plan my shower."

"But I'm going to have it catered," Schmidt whined.

"No!" Jess cried. She got up and grabbed her purse from the hook.

"Where are you going?" Coach asked.

"To get away from your nonsense," Jess answered, slamming the door shut behind her.

"She was referring to your ideas," Schmidt said to Coach.

"Nuh uh, man. She was referring to your ideas," Coach argued.

"I don't have time for this," Schmidt growled. "I have caterers to call." He stormed off. Jess needed to have a nice shower, and he was going to pull it off.

...

"Hey, little lady," Nick said as Jess sat down at the bar. He was wiping down some glasses.

"Schmidt is driving me crazy," Jess groaned.

"The shower thing?" Nick asked. "Yea I know. He kept trying to make me get involved."

"Why is it that he thinks our baby is their baby too?" Jess asked.

"I dunno. Why does Schmidt do, think, or say anything?" Nick laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Jess answered dully. She had been experiencing morning sickness for the past while and hating it. Nick was extremely grateful that he was incapable of being pregnant so as to avoid the nastiness of vomiting all the time.

"Hey," Cece said, appearing from the back. She caught sight of Jess's face. "Oh, no. The shower again?"

"He's relentless," Jess sighed. Ever since the first ultrasound, Schmidt had gone nuts with the whole shower thing. He was obsessed.

"Look, I'll just tell him I'm doing it," Cece said. "That should stop him."

"You would think," Jess responded. "But this is Schmidt we're talking about here."

"Just leave it to me," Cece smiled at her. She had her ways of handling Schmidt.

"So how are things with Buster anyway?" Jess asked, changing the subject. She craved talk of things other than the baby.

"I'm breaking up with him," Cece sighed.

"Why?"

"It's just not clicking, and it's not because of the age difference," Cece said before Jess could open her mouth.

"Cece single again," Jess mused.

"It'll be nice," Cece smiled.

"Here," Nick said, handing her a plate of carrots. "These are good for the baby."

"Thanks, Nick," Jess replied. She was glad he was taking an interest. Cece gave her an eyebrow waggle behind Nick's back as she got back to work. Jess ignored it. Nothing was going to change about their relationship. They had agreed on that.

...

Later that evening, Nick was sitting with Winston and Coach. Schmidt was on the phone for something to do with the shower.

"It'll be nice to have my son sit and watch the games with us," Nick commented. Winston looked at him.

"You know it could be a girl, right?" he asked.

"It's a boy," Nick dismissed.

"Nick, there is a fifty percent chance it will be a girl," Winston said adamantly. Nick processed this for a second before his eyes widened.

"Fifty percent?! Those odds are terrible!" he cried. "No way. My swimmers are men. It's gonna be a boy."

"Um, newsflash Nick. Your swimmers are also girls," Winston commented.

"Don't you dare say that about my boys!" Nick shouted. "You'll confuse them!"

"I think a little girl would be adorable," Coach said. "Until she becomes a teenager that is. Then you'll have problems."

"No," Nick said strongly. "It's a boy. I can't have a girl. Girls like glitter and ponies and...and pink!"

"Man, how did we get so stereotypical?" Winston asked. "She could like purple or yellow or green or, God forbid, blue too, you know."

"Guys also like horses," Coach interjected. "Ever watched cowboy movies?"

"Ugh! No," Nick said loudly. "I have to have a boy."

"Why?" Winston asked. "What would be wrong with having a girl?"

"I need someone to carry on my name," Nick said.

"Nick, Nick Miller, or Miller?" Winston asked.

"Nick!" he cried. "I want a Nick Jr."

"You could call a girl Nichole," Coach suggested.

"I am not gonna ruin my good Nick name with that," Nick said grumpily.

"Nick name," Winston chuckled.

"Guys, I'm serious. I have to have a son. A daughter will break my heart when she finds another man in her life that's better than me, and she won't need me anymore," Nick said, tearing up.

"Is that what this is really about?" Coach asked. "You think she won't need her Daddy when she's grown up?"

"I dunno," Nick sniffed, his voice muffled.

"Your baby, boy or girl, will love you forever, Nick," Winston assured him.

"I'm home," Jess said, coming in. Nick got up and hugged her tightly, still crying a little.

"Our baby can't ever not need me," he said into her shoulder.

"Um, okay?" Jess said. She looked at Winston and Coach, who gave her a sympathetic look back.

"Good, you're home," Schmidt said. "I need your opinion." He held up photos.

"What am I looking at?" she asked. Nick straightened up and squinted at the photos too.

"They're desserts, Jess. Pick one," Schmidt said, annoyed.

"I said you're not in charge anymore," Jess told him. "Cece is."

"Cece! My God, what have you done? I mean, I respect Cece and all, but no. No, this has to be done right."

"Schmidt? Let it go," Jess said.

"I can't," Schmidt said. "I have to do this."

"No, you don't, buddy," Nick said, clapping Schmidt's shoulder.

"It's in Cece's hands now," Jess added. Schmidt looked hurt, and he went into his room and returned with an enormous binder. He slammed it down on the table.

"It's all hers now," he said, going back into his room and shutting the door. Jess and Nick stared at the book.

"What all goes on at a baby shower exactly?" Nick asked.

"I thought I knew," Jess answered.

"Don't we have an ultrasound appointment tomorrow?" Coach asked from the couch.

"Ugh, you guys! Stop it," Jess said. "And yes, we do."

"Can we come again?" Winston asked eagerly.

"No, you can't."

"Aw, man."

Jess was annoyed on the surface, but a part of her deep down felt honored and loved that her friends cared about the baby so much.

**The Next Day**

"I can't wait to see the baby," Jess said to Nick, excited. It would be a lot bigger from their last appointment. It had taken quite an effort to sneak out of the loft without the others noticing. They had even stepped over a napping Winston by the door. He never woke up, which slightly alarmed Jess. She tried not to think about it. Then, Sadie came in and smiled at them.

"You ready?"

"Yes!" Jess exclaimed.

"Glad to hear," Sadie laughed.

"Can you tell if it's a boy?" Nick asked.

"Well, I can try and see," Sadie answered. "It's not always right, though, but it's fairly accurate."

"I wanna know," Nick said immediately.

"Hey, maybe I don't want to know," Jess commented.

"Oh, come one. You want to know," Nick scoffed.

"You're right. I do," Jess smiled. She wanted a girl. She wanted to teach someone how to knit and sew and talk to about girl things. Sadie started the procedure, and the image came up on the screen. After a moment, Sadie's face changed.

"Oh my God," Sadie said.

"What? What?" Jess asked, panicking. "Is it an alien? Am I having an alien baby?"

"If there's an alien in there, you better tell us," Nick demanded, trying to remain calm. Sadie started to laugh.

"No," she said. "Jess, you're having twins."

There was a shocked silence.

"What did you say?" Jess asked. She had been prepping for one baby, not two.

"You're having twins!" Sadie exclaimed.

"How, how, h-h-how did you miss that the first time?" Nick asked, stuttering. He felt like he was going to freak out again.

"Well, in an early ultrasound, sometimes a twin can be missed," Sadie explained. "But there are definitely two babies in there, and there are two heartbeats now. Sometimes in early stages, the two heartbeats can sound at the same time, making it appear there's only one."

Jess and Nick listened, and sure enough, there were two whooshing sounds echoing in the room.

"Wow," Jess said, eyes wide. "Twins!"

"Twins," Nick echoed.

"Congratulations," Sadie smiled at them. Jess looked at Nick, who was starting to get bulgy eyes again.

"It'll be all right," she reassured him. "The second baby can keep the first baby company."

"What if they set things on fire? Twins do that," Nick said quickly.

"Nick..."

"Twins are weird! They have a secret language and have weird mind connections," Nick went on. "I wanna know what our babies are saying, Jess! I have to know!"

"Nick, calm down," Sadie instructed.

"I'm having a heart attack," Nick said.

"You're having a panic attack," Sadie corrected calmly as Nick slid to the floor.

"Nick, please. It'll be okay," Jess tried.

"Twins," Nick kept repeating. "Twins, twins, twins."

"Nick..."

"I need air!" Nick shouted, running out the door suddenly.

"Good luck," Sadie said to Jess, giving her a sympathetic look. Jess got dressed and hurried after Nick. She started laughing as she ran. Twins. Of course. Nothing could be simple could it?

* * *

**I couldn't help myself with the twin thing. I wanted to shake things up. I don't intend on doing anymore time jumps that are longer than maybe a week or two. Stay tuned ;) Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Nick?" Jess called. She was driving her car and calling his name. He was a fast bugger when he was scared, and in this case, she knew he'd be terrified. He could be anywhere by now.

"NICK!"

She checked her phone, but Schmidt had said Nick wasn't there. He was pestering her for details about the ultrasound, but she ignored those messages.

"NIIIIIIIICK!" she screamed out her window as she drove. She almost wished that Sadie had told her alone and let Jess tell Nick about the twins in a controlled area where he wouldn't run off and disappear. After driving around for an hour without finding him, she decided to just go home. She was accosted in the doorway when she got there.

"Where's the photo?" Schmidt asked immediately.

"Is our baby a boy or a girl?" Winston questioned.

"Is our baby healthy?" Coach asked.

"Back off," Jess said, sweeping her hands at them to make them step back.

"Where's Nick?" Coach noticed.

"He's freaking out again," Jess sighed.

"Why? What happened?" Winston asked. Jess moved to the couch where she collapsed. She heard the three of them surround the couch, watching her.

"Jess?" Schmidt prompted.

"I'm having..." Jess garbled the last word.

"You're having what?" Coach asked, leaning in.

"I'm having schwins," Jess tried again.

"Schwins? What the hell is a schwin?" Winston questioned, concerned.

"Oh my God," Schmidt said, catching on. "You're having twins?!"

Jess nodded miserably into the couch cushion.

"She's having twins!" Schmidt shrieked, jumping up and down. Coach and Winston started hollering and jumping with him.

"Oooh wait," Winston said, stopping quickly. "That's why Nick's freaking out again!"

"I'm on it," Schmidt said, whipping out his phone to call Nick as he went for the door.

"This is so exciting!" Coach said, sitting down next to Jess's head.

"For you maybe. Now I have to push out not one but two little humans out of my vagina. I can't do this," Jess whimpered.

"You'll do just fine, Jess," Winston said.

"Yea, and you'll have your mom there. Mothers are good in that kind of situations. I think so anyway," Coach said, frowning. Both Winston and Coach saw Jess tense up at this.

"You...you told your mom, right Jess?" Winston asked, realizing.

"Um, yea," Jess lied.

"Jessica Damn Day!" Coach yelped, jumping to his feet. "You haven't told your mother?!"

"There hasn't been a good time!" Jess shouted, sitting up. Every time she had called her mother, something was either going on, on fire, or she wanted dating advice. Jess just didn't have the heart to blurt out she was pregnant with her ex boyfriend's baby. It would give her mother a heart attack. She didn't even want to know what her father's reaction would be. She valued Nick's life too much to tell her father yet.

"Jess, you gotta tell her," Winston said. "What are you waiting for?"

"My babies to get older and tell her themselves?" Jess answered hopefully, wincing.

"You need to tell her now," Coach insisted.

"I will after Nick calms down," Jess promised. She hoped Schmidt was able to find him.

...

"Nick, why are you hiding in here?" Cece asked, finding Nick in the storage room huddling behind cases of beer.

"I'm not hiding," he answered.

"You are clearly hiding. What's going on?" she demanded. "Is Jess okay?"

"Jess is fine. I'm not fine."

"What happened?"

"I'm going to be a father twice," Nick answered, panicking slightly. Cece's jaw dropped.

"Oh my God! You knocked up another woman?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Oh, I'm gonna whup your ass so hard..." Cece said, charging towards him.

"No, no, no!" Nick shouted, hiding behind his hands. She stopped.

"You have five seconds to clarify what you are talking about before you die," she ordered, steaming mad now. How dare Nick get another woman pregnant!

"Jess is having twins," Nick told her, peering around his fingers at her. He hated to admit it, but sometimes Cece really did scare him.

"What?" Cece asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! And I'm freaking out again! One baby was hard enough to get used to. Now I have to get used to two babies! I can't do it, Cece!"

"Nick, Nick, Nick," Cece said, holding out her hands and grabbing his. "You guys will be just fine. I promise. You can't keep freaking out on Jess like this. She needs you, Nick. You gotta step up."

"Twins, Cece! Twins!" Nick yelped.

"Yes, twins, but they're your twins, and they're gonna be perfect. You have to buck up, Nick."

"Have you ever seen The Shining, Cece? The twins..." Nick broke off, choking with fear.

"Nick!" Cece cried. "Your twins are not going to reenact a scene from a horror movie. Get your head out of your ass and go find Jess. Did you ever stop to think that she might be freaking out too?"

"Okay, okay," Nick said, getting up. "I'm going." He didn't like how mean Cece could get, but she had a point.

"Tell Jess I'll swing by after work," Cece added.

"Will do."

Cece watched Nick leave, and she released her breath. What had these guys gotten themselves into?

...

"Hi, Mom," Jess said, answering her phone. Of all people to phone her right now, it had to be her mother.

"Hi, sweetie," Joan said in her ear. "Is this a bad time?"

"Um, kind of," Jess answered truthfully. Nick burst through the door then all sweaty and red in the face.

"Jess!" he shouted.

"Is that Nick?" Joan asked, having heard him shout.

"Yea. I gotta go."

"Call me later!"

"Yea," Jess said, hanging up the phone just as Nick approached her.

"I'm here," he told her.  
"Where were you? I couldn't find you," Jess chastised. She tried to keep the worry about telling her mother about the babies at bay.

"I panicked," Nick said.

"I saw," she noted.

"I realized that I was overreacting."

"Really."

"Yes."

"Did Schmidt talk to you?" Jess asked.

"No, Cece did," Nick answered offhandedly. "Look, no matter what happens, we are having two babies. I can't change that."

"No, you can't."

"I am a little scared, but I'm trying to work through it. I realize you might be scared too, but we can do this together."

"Thanks, Nick," Jess smiled a little.

"It means a greater chance of having two boys," Nick grinned.

"Or two girls," Jess pointed out.

"Damn it, Jess! Don't ruin this moment for me," Nick growled.

"Or we could have a boy and a girl," Jess finished, looking at him. Nick pondered this.

"I like those odds," he nodded after a moment. "Anyway, throw whatever you want at me. I promise I won't freak out anymore." He looked so confident that Jess felt bad for what she was going to say next.

"I haven't told my parents yet, Nick," Jess blurted out. He stared at her, eyes bulging.

"What?!" he yelped.

"Nick..."

"I'm not freaking out," Nick said, holding his hands out. He felt like he was having a mini stroke instead, though. He felt his eye start to twitch.

"You look like you're trying to," Jess pointed out.

"Why haven't you told them yet?!" he asked, changing the subject.

"I didn't think they needed to know," she tried.

"Jess!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know how to tell them!" Jess wailed.

"You just call them and say, 'Guess what, I'm having a baby!'" Nick exclaimed.

"I'm having two babies now, Nick!" Jess hollered.

"I know! Jess, just breathe. It's not good for the babies to be yelling," Nick said.

"You're right," Jess said, nodding. "You're right. I am too stressed out about this. Why don't you tell them?"

"What?" Nick asked, not hearing her properly.

"Yea! You can tell my parents about the babies," Jess grinned. Problem solved. They would yell at him and not her.

"Oh no, no, no," Nick said, shaking his hands at her. "I'm not doing it."

"Please, Nick?" Jess begged.

"No."

"They only yell for a little bit," Jess tried.

"No! Jess, you have to tell them yourself," Nick urged. Jess huffed.

"Fine," she muttered.

"There you are!" Schmidt shouted, coming in. He was very out of breath, pointing at Nick. "I've been trying to find you!"

"I'm all better now, Schmidt," Nick told him. "I talked to Cece."

"She certainly has been the new go to around here hasn't she?" Schmidt asked, annoyed.

"She just happened to be there," Nick explained.

"If anyone needs me, and it doesn't seem that you do, I'll be in my room," Schmidt said. Jess and Nick watched him shut the door behind him.

"Call them," Nick said, pointing at her. "Now."

Jess gripped her phone in her hand. She was terrified.

...

"If Nick has twin girls, he's gonna flip out," Coach laughed. He and Winston were down at the bar.

"I'm amazed he hasn't fled town yet to be honest," Winston chuckled.

"He cares about Jess, that's why," Coach pointed out.

"You think they'll get back together?" Winston asked. Coach looked thoughtful.

"I dunno. I'm not even really sure why they broke up."

"Because she needed him to be..." Winston started.

"It's a figure of speech, Winston," Coach stopped him. "Geez."

"I thought you were serious."

"How could we get them back together?" Coach asked, changing the subject.

"I don't think we should be messing around with that."

"Oh come on! It'd be a classic Winston and Coach Messaround," Coach grinned. Winston sucked his teeth.

"Yeaaaa I dunno," he said.

"Dude! It'd be awesome. Then we could tell their kids that we were the ones responsible for their parents getting back together!" Coach cried. "Isn't that a great story? Hell, I'd love it if my parents' friends told me that kind of story. I would!"

"It's tempting," Winston nodded thoughtfully. "Let me think on it."

"All right. Don't think on it for too long, though," Coach said, pointing at him.

"Deal," Winston grinned.

...

"Oh my God, Jess, just call her," Nick pleaded. He had watched Jess pick up and put down her phone about twenty times by this point.

"How do I say it, though? Do I just blurt it out? Or do I work it into the conversation somehow?" she asked. "Like, 'Oh, Mom! You're gonna be a grandma!' or 'So, Mom, what do you think about babies? You think they're adorable? Well, guess what? I'm pregnant!'"

"Those are all terrible ideas," Nick said.

"If you're such a genius, you do it then."

"I can do you one better," Nick said, pulling out his phone. "I'll call and tell my Mom right now. Show you how it's done."

"Wait, you haven't told your mother either? And you're giving me crap for not telling mine?!"

"I'm not the one who's gonna have a baby bump at Christmas, Jess," Nick snorted.

"They're still your babies, though, Nick. It doesn't matter that I'm the one who's pregnant. You put them in there!"

"Whatever. Here we go," Nick said, dialing. "Hey, Mom! How are ya? Oh, that's good. Yea, it has been too long. So, I have some exciting news for you. Jess and I are having twins! And you're the grandma!"

Jess winced as the shrieking commenced on the other end of the phone. Nick pulled it away so as not to go deaf.

"Glad you're really excited, Ma," he said. "I'll be in touch soon. Bye bye now." He hung up and looked at Jess. "Piece of cake."

"She sounded really upset," Jess pointed out

"Nah, she's just so happy," Nick lied.

"I specifically heard her say 'Not Jess. Anyone but Jess!'" Jess quoted.

"She didn't mean it," Nick shook his head, his lips in that turtle like state he adopted when he was didn't know what to do.

"This has really shaken my confidence for telling Mom," Jess said.

"Telling Mom what?" a voice asked. Jess and Nick whipped around to see her father standing there.

"Dad!" Jess shrieked. Nick stood frozen, clutching his phone in his hand as though it might teleport him to anywhere but there.

"Tell Mom what?" Bob repeated.

"When did you get here?" Jess demanded.

"This afternoon. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hi. Your door was unlocked," Bob gestured.

"Great," Jess said nervously. Bob took sight of her then and frowned.

"Gee, Jess. Are you okay? You look like you're gained some weight. Are you stressed out?" he asked, concerned. Then he looked at Nick and back to Jess then back to Nick again, who's eyes flicked to Jess's stomach and back to Bob quickly.

"Wait," Bob said, stopping. "Are you...?"

"Congratulations! You're going to be a grandpa!" Jess shouted, throwing her hands into the air. "Yaay!"

"Yay," Nick said weakly. Bob stared at them both, shocked.

"See, Nick, I told you there is no good way of telling them," Jess chastised.

"I'm gonna kill you," Bob said, charging at Nick.

"AH!" Nick shrieked, running and leaping over the couch. Bob crawled over it after him, landing on the floor sprawled before picking himself up and continuing after Nick, who by now was holding a chair legs out towards Bob in defense.

"I am trained in the art of chair throwing!" Nick yelled at Bob.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Jess shouted. They turned to look at her. "You're upsetting me, which is upsetting the babies. Knock it off!"

"Babies?" Bob asked, emphasizing the "s" at the end. He looked at Nick.

"Twins," Nick told him shakily.

"I gotta sit down," Bob said. Nick offered him the chair he was holding. Bob sank into it, gripping his head.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Jess apologized.

"No, no. These things happen," Bob said to her. "What did your mother say?"

"I haven't told her yet. I was trying to before you burst in here," Jess answered.

"Is it hot in here?" Bob asked, tugging at his shirt.

"You're not having a heart attack are you?" Jess asked, panicking.

"No. I don't think so," Bob frowned.

"How should I tell her?" Jess asked. Schmidt's door banged open then, and he was on the phone.

"Hi, Joan?" he said.

"No, no, no, NO!" Jess hissed, waving her hands around.

"Oh God," Bob said.

"Yea, it's Schmidt," Schmidt went on. "Jess is pregnant. By Nick. I have watched them all day try to figure out how to tell you, so I thought I'd do it for them. You're thrilled? Oh, that's fantastic. Yes, I'll tell her to call you. Bye, Joan." Schmidt hung up the phone, glaring at them all.

"Oh my God, Schmidt!" Jess shouted at him.

"Do you see how easy that was?" Schmidt asked.

"How could you do that, man?" Nick demanded.

"I can't believe you did that!" Jess cried.

"I didn't actually do anything," Schmidt said, showing them his phone.

"I don't understand," Jess said, squinting.

"I pretended to tell her to show you how easy it was. Now just do it," Schmidt ordered. At this point, Cece entered the loft looking very upset.

"Cece? What happened?" Jess asked.

"You didn't tell your mother you were pregnant?!" Cece shrieked.

"No," Jess said in a small voice.

"Cece, what did you do?" Schmidt asked.

"I called and invited her to the baby shower," Cece said angrily to Jess. "She was all confused, and when she figured it out, she hit the bloody roof!"

"Oh no," Jess whimpered. Her phone started to ring, and she saw it was her mother.

"Good luck," Nick said to her as she walked to her room. They saw her give them one last fearful look as she closed the door behind her.

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**Stay tuned for Joan's reaction! Please let me know what you think of the story so far! I love hearing from you guys :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for your reviews! Guest, you'll see why I did what I did with Nick's mom in this chapter. Happy reading!**

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Schmidt, Cece, Nick, and Bob were all standing outside Jess's bedroom door craning their ears and trying to hear what was being said. Nick felt afraid for Jess, but when he heard laughter, he felt confused. They all looked at each other.

"Why is she laughing?" Cece asked in a whisper.

"Maybe it's a nervous laughter," Nick suggested. Jess laughed again, and it sounded lighthearted and fun.

"I think not," Bob commented.

"You did tell her, right?" Schmidt asked Cece. She glared at him.

"Why would I have come rushing in here freaking out if I hadn't?" she demanded.

"It was just a thought."

"Well, unthink it," Cece ordered.

"Shh, shh, she's coming!" Nick hissed. They all leaped back and acted nonchalant when Jess opened the door. She looked at them.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"The real question here is, why were you laughing?" Schmidt asked.

"You were eavesdropping?!" Jess exclaimed.

"Your laugh is very high pitched, Jess. You can't miss it," Nick shrugged.

"Am I alone in wanting to kill Nick still or is Joanie on board now too?" Bob asked.

"Why does anyone have to get killed?" Nick asked, gesturing with his arms.

"Mom is fine with it," Jess interrupted before another fight could break out. "She was a little disappointed she had to hear it from Cece, but she is excited about the babies."

"Wait, wait, wait," Cece said, holding out her hand. "Your mother flipped her shit on me when she found out. How is she suddenly so happy?"

"She just was," Jess shrugged. Cece narrowed her eyes at Jess, who avoided looking at her.

"Well, at least you two are together. It would be even worse if you were split up," Bob said, laughing a little. Everyone froze, and Jess, not wanting to give her father a stroke, made a decision.

"Of course we're still together!" she cried. Nick's eyes bulged as Schmidt's mouth almost hit the floor. Cece's eyebrows went up to her hairline. Everyone except Bob was staring at Jess.

"That's a relief. I guess I can let you live for now," Bob said to Nick, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go out for a beer. Anyone care to join?"

"I think it's just you, Dad," Jess answered.

"All right. I'll go clear my head. When I come back, we can go celebrate, huh?" he smiled.

"Sure!" Jess nodded animatedly. Bob was still laughing to himself a little as he walked out of the loft. Everyone rounded on Jess then.

"What were you thinking?!" Nick exploded.

"Are you insane?!" Schmidt yelled.

"Is that why your mother calmed down so fast?!" Cece demanded. Jess cringed, but she nodded.

"Oh my God, Jess," Cece moaned. She gripped her head and walked to the living room. Jess knew it was a dumb decision to make. Her mother had known about the break up, which Jess had lied and said they worked things out before she found out she was pregnant. She hadn't told her father they had broken up yet. She had meant to, but it just hadn't come up. She hadn't wanted him to hate Nick.

"I'm having a very hard time understanding why you would go along with that," Schmidt huffed.

"This doesn't concern you," Jess said.

"Actually, it does. It affects all of us. We have to pretend that you're still together whenever they're here. I can't do it, Jess. I think I speak for everyone when I say that," Schmidt finished.

"Can we talk?" Nick asked her, cutting him off.

"Okay," Jess agreed. They went into her room and shut the door in Schmidt's face.

"This isn't over," Schmidt said through the door.

"Jess, why did you lie?" Nick asked. Of course, he would prefer it if they were still together. He had been thinking about it for the past while, but he knew Jess wouldn't go for it. Then she tells her parents they're still together, so was that her way of telling him she wanted to be with him again? He was confused.

"I just...I wanted to make it easier on them," Jess answered, sighing loudly.

"By making it worse for us?" Nick countered.

"I'm sorry," she winced. "I'll tell them."

"You know, what if we wait a little bit? Let them have that reassurance before we rip it away again?" Nick suggested.

"Really? You want to go along with this?" Jess asked, surprised.

"Just for a week or two," Nick shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Does your mother still think we are dating?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Actually, she's mad at you because I told her you dumped me."

"Nick!"

"Actually, that's only part of why she's mad at you."

"What do you mean?" Jess demanded.

"She said something about thank you cards," Nick went on. Jess froze.

"Nick, did you forget to mail my thank you cards?" she asked.

"What cards? Why do you guys keep talking about cards?!" Nick questioned, frazzled. Realizing something, Jess opened her door and went into Nick's room to his desk and pulled the drawer open. There sat four cards ready to be mailed.

"Nick!"

"I'm getting to them," Nick told her.

"These are thank you cards for Christmas and birthday gifts for the last year!" Jess cried.

"You had four cards for two events?" Nick asked, confused.

"The other two were for Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. I was trying to be cute," Jess explained. "And now your mother hates me because I am unappreciative and dumped you."

"Hate is a strong word," Nick started.

"It was a mutual break up, Nick," Jess cut him off. "I can't believe you told her I dumped you."

"She went there! I just didn't disagree," Nick finished.

"I can't even look at you right now," Jess said, going back to her room.

"Well, you have maybe an hour to like me again for when we pretend to be in love for your Dad!" Nick called after her as she slammed her door. He exhaled loudly when he was alone. He really did have to do some damage control.

...

"I can't believe you told Jess's mom," Schmidt said to Cece. They were sitting on the couch in the living room. Jess and Nick had stopped yelling at each other, and it was quiet again.

"I didn't know she hadn't told her. I assumed she would have told her right away," Cece defended herself.

"You could have asked Jess first."

"Okay, why are you being so hard on me right now?" Cece asked.

"I'm not," Schmidt argued.

"You are! Is it because I took over the baby shower from you?"

"You didn't take anything from me," Schmidt shook his head.

"I'm doing the shower, Schmidt," Cece said.

"You might be the face of the shower, but I am the brains," Schmidt told her.

"Schmidt..." Cece warned, getting frustrated.

"Just admit it! You can't do it alone. I already have the essentials for it. And who starts with the guest list first? You have to have everything else before you invite people," Schmidt scoffed.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You have to know how many people are coming before you can plan anything else," Cece argued.

"People will show up if they know the venue and what's taking place. It takes the surprise and anxiety out of it for them."

"It's a baby shower. How is that causing anxiety?" Cece asked, incredulous. "You come, you give gifts, you play games, and you eat food. Done!"

"Oh my God, you've just slaughtered the baby shower," Schmidt said, outraged.

"What else is it supposed to be then?" Cece demanded.

"Elegant! A venue! Organized! Tasteful! Structured!" Schmidt rhymed off.

"It's not a freaking gala, Schmidt. It's a baby shower," Cece told him.

"To you maybe, but to me, it's the babies' first social event, and it has to be perfect," Schmidt finished. Cece stared at him.

"You're impossible," she said.

"Maybe I am an imp sometimes, but with me, nothing is impossible," Schmidt said triumphantly.

"That makes zero sense," Cece started.

"Hey, is there a reason Jess's dad is at the bar downing shots?" Coach asked, interrupting as he came in with Winston. They had been concerned for Bob and wanted to know what was going on. Nick emerged from his room then.

"She told him about the babies," Nick answered.

"Oh, wow. How did he take it?" Winston asked.

"He tried to kill me," Nick replied, matter of fact.

"And Jess told him and her mother that she and Nick are still together," Cece chimed in, making Coach and Winston gape at Nick.

"Don't look at me it wasn't my idea!" Nick cried, holding up his hands in defense.

"This is insane," Coach said.

"Hey, Nick," Jess said, coming out of her room, phone in hand.

"Yea?" he asked.

"I just called your mom."

"Why?!" Nick freaked.

"I told her we are together still. We can't risk her telling my parents we aren't," Jess reasoned.

"Oh my God!" Nick shouted, pulling at his face so that his skin stretched down.

"You're spreading the lie?!" Schmidt cried. "You're supposed to contain it, Jess! Like a disease! You contain it and dispose of it not spread it around! God!"

"Nick and I agreed to keep it like this for two weeks," Jess told them. "We'll tell them after that."

"You didn't have to bring my mother into this," Nick said.

"Yes, I did. I had to redeem myself from your carelessness," Jess argued. "She laughed and said it was 'typical Nick' when I said you forgot to mail my cards. I sent her pictures as proof. I also clarified that we were drunk when we decided to break up and once sober we realized it was a mistake."

"Oh, Jess," Nick moaned.

"So, what now?" Winston asked, looking at everyone. "We're just supposed to go along with this?"

"Yup," Jess nodded. "Oh, and Dad is having a celebratory dinner tonight, so bring your A game."

"I have plenty of game," Coach told her. "It just might not be A game."

"It better be A game," Jess warned.

"It's looking more like B game...or maybe C game," Coach went on.

"_A_ game!" Jess shouted. "All of you! A game, or I will read you every single detail that happens while giving birth every day all day until it happens!"

"All right, all right," Coach said, holding up his hands. "A game it is."

"Thank you," Jess nodded. Her phone buzzed. "Dad asked us to meet him for dinner, so get ready." She went back to her room. The others went to change as well. Nick had a message on his phone from his mother telling him how happy she was he had worked things out with Jess and how she was going to be a grandma. He felt bad that it was all going to be ruined in two weeks' time.

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**I look forward to your reviews :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you, celeryy, for always reviewing :) I look forward to hearing what you love about the chapters lol.**

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"I've been thinking," Bob said, smiling at Jess and Nick. "I'm happy this is happening."

"So are we," Jess smiled back. Nick's leg was bouncing a hundred miles an hour. Jess reached over and put her hand on his knee sharply, making him stop. They were at the restaurant and halfway through the meal, which Bob had insisted was his treat. Schmidt, Cece, Coach, and Winston had done well to keep up the charade. So far.

"I would like to be called Poppy," Bob went on. "Grandpa just sounds old."

"They can call you whatever you want," Jess assured him. He beamed back at her. Jess felt bad for lying to her father, but she didn't want to upset him. He was taking the whole twin thing really well, and if she told him the truth, he'd probably explode and wind up in jail for murdering Nick. Jess couldn't let that happen. They'd faze out their relationship slowly. Maybe they'd even start fighting a little and having problems first. Her mind was going rapidly.

"Hey, Jess," Winston said then. "I would be so honored if Ferguson could be your ring bearer."

"Excuse me?" Jess asked, her fork hovering. Nick stared at him. Bob looked at him, intrigued.

"For what?" Bob questioned him.

"Their wedding," Winston said innocently. "They're engaged after all. Right, guys?"

Jess and Nick gaped at him, and he smiled wickedly back. All evening he had been thinking of a way to get even with those two for making him go along with this ridiculous lie. He decided to do a mess around and make it even more ridiculous. That would show them.

"Um," Nick started.

"Hold on," Bob said, cutting him off and holding up his hand. "You proposed to my daughter without asking my permission first?"

Nick swallowed hard, thinking fast.

"I mentioned it in passing that I was thinking of proposing. God, you can't tell these idiots anything without them spreading it like wildfire," Nick finally said, kicking Winston under the table. Cece gasped, wincing in pain.

_Sorry, _he mouthed to her, cringing.

"You okay, dear?" Bob asked Cece.

"Mmhmm," she nodded, gritting her teeth. She gave Nick a dagger eyed glance in return.

"Well, I think it's a good idea," Bob said, turning back to Nick and Jess. "Children should have married parents."

"Dad," Jess started, laughing a little. "That's a little old school, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Bob asked.

"Um, didn't you and Jess's mom get divorced when Jess was a kid?" Schmidt asked, remembering.

"This isn't about me," Bob replied, pointing his finger at Schmidt.

"That's a little double standard," Coach chimed in. "I mean, you can't say Jess and Nick have to be married when you got divorced, man."

"My daughter wasn't born a bastard," Bob said, getting worked up. He wasn't thinking straight anymore. Once it was out, he couldn't take it back. Everyone was staring at him. He felt himself flush.

"No, I just became a bastard child when you and Mom split up," Jess said, tilting her head.

"It doesn't work that way!" Bob spluttered.

"Our children are not going to be bastards, Bob," Nick cut in, holding up his hand. "Don't you ever imply that our children are bastards again, do you hear me?" He was shaking inside like a leaf. He was terrified of Bob, but he was not going to sit there and listen to him say those things about his babies. He just wasn't.

"I didn't mean it that way..." Bob tried. This was getting out of hand. He really was a horrible person. How could he have just implied his grandchildren were...were...?

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down," Cece said, looking at everyone. "Just take deep breaths..."

Bob wanted Nick to marry Jess. He didn't know why other than it seemed right, that for some weird reason, they worked.

"It's the right thing to do, Nick, and you know it," Bob continued on, echoing his own thoughts and looking at Nick.

"Dad, don't," Jess said a little angrily. "You can't put that pressure on him. I don't want him to marry me just because I'm having his children. I want him to marry me because he loves me. _That's_ the right thing to do."

There was silence at the table then, and the others shifted their glances back and forth between Jess and Nick, who were looking at each other. Bob pressed his lips together and blew air through them after a moment.

"You're right," he said. "Of course you're right. I'm sorry. I just got carried away. I understand if you don't want to get married. You're still a family no matter what. I know that. I should never have implied...Just...just ignore the dithering of an old man." He pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Dad..." Jess started. He held up his hand.

"I'm just going for a walk to clear my head," he said. "I'm fine. I am happy for you, Jess. I really am. I just want you to be happy." He gave her a smile and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Then he lumbered away. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly.

"He totally just ditched us with the bill," Coach noted. They all groaned.

...

Jess was getting ready to climb into her bed when Nick knocked on her door. Her father had wanted to stay at a motel that night, so he wasn't there. They had talked again, though, and he had apologized once more for his behavior. He had been embarrassed.

"Hey," Nick said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she nodded. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and he joined her.

"Tonight was pretty intense," he said after a moment.

"It was."

"Is your dad okay?"

"He's fine. He just got a little worked up. He apologized a lot."

"I have to admit, I didn't see him going down that road," Nick commented.

"He feels a lot of guilt sometimes for getting divorced when my sister and I were still kids. He didn't mean it, Nick."

"No, I know."

"I'm impressed you stood up to him, though."

"I almost wet myself," Nick admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing nervously.

"He's mostly harmless," Jess assured him.

They were quiet for a bit before Nick spoke again.

"I got even with Winston for making up the engagement thing," Nick said, chuckling a little.

"What did you do?" Jess asked, intrigued.

"OH NO! NO, NO, NO! NOOOOO!" Winston shouted as he whipped past her doorway towards the bathroom. Jess looked at Nick, raising her eyebrow.

"I may have tampered with his midnight snack," Nick shrugged, a smirk growing on his lips. She burst out laughing then. She couldn't help it. He started to laugh too.

"Thank you," she said after.

"My pleasure," he grinned.

They sat in silence for a moment. Ferguson trotted past the door, pausing to look at Nick, who stared back. Did the cat know he had done it? Ferguson moved on after a moment.

"So, I should go to bed," Nick said. He felt awkward suddenly.

"I'll tell Dad tomorrow we aren't together," Jess said, sighing. "I'm sorry I put you through that tonight."

"It's okay, Jess," Nick said. "It was kind of fun."

"It was, wasn't it?" she agreed.

"I...I'd like to keep having fun, if that's all right," Nick said hesitantly. He didn't want to go back to being broken up yet, even though they were technically broken up still. He liked pretending. He wondered if she did too.

"Okay," she said after thinking about it.

"Good night, Jess," he smiled, getting up to leave.

"Good night, Nick," she replied. He closed her door behind him, and his face burst into a huge grin. Jess was his pretend girlfriend. He'd take what he could get.

**A Week Later **

Schmidt looked up when Jess came into the apartment angrily. She slammed the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"If one more person touches my stomach without asking, I'm going to kill someone!" she snapped.

"Who's been mauling our babies?!" Schmidt asked, appalled.

"Everyone!" Jess cried, slamming her purse down and going to sit on the couch. She hugged her stomach. Ever since she had started showing, the public had decided that personal boundaries did not exist anymore. They treated it like it was a privilege to Jess that they be interested in touching her belly, that she should be grateful they were paying attention to her and fawning over her unborn babies.

"Well that's disgusting," Schmidt said, grimacing.

"I feel like a circus freak," Jess whimpered.

"You're not," Schmidt said, moving closer to her and putting his arm around her.

"I just want to be invisible, you know? I don't like all this attention. I just want to get some damn ice cream without the whole world gawking at me or touching me. I didn't even go, Schmidt, because it was too much. I really want ice cream." She started to cry a little. Damn the cravings.

Schmidt was thoughtful for a moment.

"I have an idea," he said.

"What?" Jess asked. He smiled.

...

"Okay, so have you thought about our mess around at all?" Coach asked Winston. They were sitting in a booth at the bar watching Nick work. He was oblivious to their staring.

"I have," Winston nodded.

"It just got easier for us," Coach went on. "I mean, they're fake dating for their parents. All we gotta do is keep that going. Nice touch with the engagement bit by the way."

"Thanks," Winston said, touching his stomach absently. He had been pretty sure Nick had put laxatives in his midnight snack that night. He couldn't prove it, but just the way Nick looked at him the next morning kind of gave him the impression he had done it. Ferguson leaving a cat turd outside Nick's door for him to step on was also a pretty good indicator.

"So what should we do next?" Coach asked.

"I think we should get them to be alone and doing something fun," Winston mused. "Something that involves water."

"Yea, yea! Water always makes things sexy," Coach nodded vigorously.

"What are you two doing?" Cece asked, standing in front of them.

"Discussing Ferguson's weight gain," Coach lied quickly. "It's concerning."

"He's a normal sized kitty," Winston argued. "He's not fat."

"Winnie, he's getting tubby..."

"He's not!"

"I'm sorry I even asked," Cece said, rolling her eyes and walking away. Then she halted in her tracks, staring at the spectacle before her. Jess smiled as she licked her ice cream cone and walked to the bar where Nick was also staring past her. Winston and Coach stopped talking to stare too.

"What?" Schmidt asked innocently.

"What the hell is that?" Cece demanded. He strolled in after Jess, his shirt stretched out over whatever it was he had stuffed in there to make it appear as though he was pregnant.

"Dude," Coach commented, sniggering. Winston started to laugh as well. The other patrons in the bar gawked as Schmidt sat down beside Jess, who was continuing to happily eat her ice cream.

"Uh, buddy, what's going on?" Nick asked. "I mean...I know you sometimes get a little jealous that women can do and experience things you can't, but isn't this taking it a bit too far?"

"Nick, I'm just helping Jess," Schmidt answered simply.

"By making yourself look ridiculous?" Cece asked.

"By being a good friend," Schmidt corrected.

"You wanna help me out here?" Nick asked Jess. She smiled.

"He's my distraction," she told them.

"I don't get it," Cece said.

"Jess is tired of everyone touching her without asking everywhere she goes, so I decided to help her out by taking everyone's attention off of her and onto me. They didn't even look at you once, did they?" he asked Jess.

"Nope," she said. They high fived.

Cece just shook her head, but she couldn't help but smile. Sometimes Schmidt showed that he could be a really caring guy who would do anything to help his friends. It surprised her that he did this, though, since Schmidt was all about image and looking good. Was he changing? He winked at her.

"You can take it off now," Jess told him. "Thank you."

"It was nice to know how it would feel to carry precious cargo for a while," Schmidt said, reaching to untie the straps behind his back. He pulled the ball of foam out from under his shirt.

"If you start talking to that and pretending it's your child, I will take you to the psych ward myself," Jess warned. He made a face but patted the foam fondly when she wasn't looking.

"You're a good friend, Schmidty," Nick said, clapping his shoulder. Schmidt didn't respond. He just wanted Jess to feel happy. He knew being pregnant could cause mixed emotions. He wanted her to enjoy the experience. If he had to distract people sometimes, then he'd do it. He liked being a good friend.

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**So Nick finally stood up to Bob. Go Nick! And poor Bob for not expressing himself very well and coming off like a jerk. I hope you guys can forgive him. Thanks for reading! I look forward to your reviews :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yup, it's been a while. I lost motivation for a bit. Then I got stuck on some other fandoms. Then I had to remember how to write like the characters again. I hope this chapter is just as good as the others. Thank you, guest, for you amazing review on my last chapter. It made my day. Happy reading!**

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"My mom is coming," Nick said to himself, staring at his phone at the message from her. "No. No, no, no."

He loved his mom, he really did, but faking that he was in a relationship with Jess would not fool her for a second once she spent an hour with them. He burst out of his bedroom.

"My mom is coming!" he shouted.

"What?" Jess asked, poking her head out of her room and squinting at him. "Did you just say your mom is coming?"

"Uh huh," he nodded.

"Why?"

"She wants to see us."

"Again...why?"

"Because you're having her grandbabies," Nick said, exasperated.

"And we're dating," Jess said, realizing. "She'll know we're making up being together!"

"This is a nightmare," Nick moaned.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jess cut in, holding up her hand. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"I'll stay at Cece's. You can tell her I'm out of town or something."

"That could work," Nick agreed eagerly. He wasn't ready for his mom to find out they were lying yet. If anything, he hoped they would do another "break up" that was natural, and she didn't need to know the whole thing was a sham to start with. He noticed Jess was frowning at her phone suddenly.

"What?" he asked. She looked up at him.

"My mom is coming too."

...

"So you're telling me that you want to hide at my place to avoid Nick's mom, but then you want to be at the loft with your mom at the same time?" Cece asked.

"You clearly didn't follow my explanation very well," Jess said, sighing.

"Your explanation gave me a headache," Cece countered.

"We need to take turns at the loft," Jess said, simplifying it for her. "I need help with this."

"Jess, why don't you guys just tell them the truth?"

"Because! I don't want to upset them," Jess answered, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

"They're adults, Jess. They can handle it," Cece told her. She reached to rub her friend's shoulders comfortingly. Jess didn't respond. She didn't know why she was making this whole thing up for her parents and Nick's mom. Aside from sparing their feelings, it was only making things messier, but in a way, she liked pretending to still be dating Nick.

"It'll be fine," Jess said suddenly.

"What will be?"

"We will get through this visit, and after a while, we'll tell them things just didn't work out but we're going to co-parent and be just fine."

"It's a bad idea, Jess," Cece warned.

Jess just smiled.

...

"What is this?" Nick asked later when he came home to find Jess standing in front of a white board with times on it.

"This is our schedule for when we're at the loft. We will conveniently keep missing each other, that way our moms won't be any the wiser or figure out we're lying to them," Jess explained.

"I think we should just wing it," Nick said.

"I spent an hour on this board, Nick."

"Seriously, Jess, we should just wing it. If they figure it out, they figure it out, but this..." he gestured at the board with his hands, moving them around in a circle. "This is just confusing and is going to get me in trouble."

"You can't lie, Nick," Jess said, pointing at him. "You're already sweating, and they're not even here yet."

"I could be sick," Nick said, snapping his fingers. "That way I'm sweaty with a fever!"

"What is going on in here?" Schmidt asked, looking at the board and then between Nick and Jess.

"Our moms are coming," Jess winced.

"And Nick can't lie," Schmidt said, getting it. "That's not good."

"How did you not sweat at dinner with Dad?" Jess asked Nick curiously.

"I did," Nick said. "I just wrapped my body in paper towel. It took me hours to pull it all off after."

Jess frowned, thinking back to the dinner, and she did remember he had been shifting in his chair a lot. It also explained all the bits of white stuff in the bathroom the next day.

"If you don't actually keep saying you're dating, then you won't be lying," Schmidt said reasonably. "Just act natural."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have a faucet running down your back when you're being untruthful," Nick shot at him.

"But you keep secrets for gifts and stuff, right?" Schmidt asked, frowning.

"I have more layers on in the winter time," Nick dismissed. "You can't see my sweat so easily then."

"So what are we doing?" Jess cut in before the conversation went any further into the sweat zone. "Are we staying here and pretending or are we going to take shifts in the loft?"

"I got your back, buddy," Schmidt said, slapping Nick's back. His face showed disgust instantly. "Seriously, Nick? You're sweating right now? They're not even here!"

"I-I don't know," Nick stammered. "Maybe we shouldn't be in the same room together."

"You'd sweat anyway," Jess told him.

"Ahhh!" Nick shouted. "I can't do this!"

"We can do this, Nick," Jess said firmly, taking his hands in hers. "We can do this. Together."

"All right," he nodded finally. He believed her. He really did. "Together."

...

Two days later, and Jess and Nick are waiting for their mothers at the airport.

"Do you think they talked to each other first?" Jess asked. "Is that why they're coming at the same time?"

"I doubt it. They haven't even met yet."

Joan and Bonnie both come towards them then, waving. Joan has a big smile on her face. When they get a few feet away from Nick and Jess, they both realize that the other is there.

"I'm sorry, are you following me?" Bonnie asked.

"No, no. That's my daughter," Joan said, pointing at Jess.

"Oh! Well, that's my son," Bonnie said, gesturing to Nick.

"Really?"

"Oh boy. They've finally met," Nick said. "This could get interesting."

"Isn't this wonderful?" Joan said to Bonnie. "I'm Joan."

"I'm Bonnie, and yes, this is fabulous," Bonnie replied. They both turned their attention back to their children then.

"Hello, you!" Joan cried, pulling Jess into a tight hug. Bonnie followed suit with Nick. Then they swapped before standing in front of their designated child.

"My handsome boy," Bonnie smiled, pinching at his cheek.

"Ah, Mom!" Nick yelped. "That hurts!"

"You're sweating. Are you sick?" Bonnie asked.

"No!" Nick cried out, making her flinch.

"He's just overheated from excitement," Jess dismissed. Nick swallowed. He wished he had stuff some towels down his pants to soak up some of the water.

"So, you two have got yourselves into some trouble, eh?" Joan said, tsking. "Well, we're here to help. Aren't we?" She turned to look at Bonnie, who nodded.

"We don't really need help..." Jess tried.

"Of course you do," Joan cut her off. "I'm your mother. I have wisdom to endow you with."

"I've got lots of books..." Jess started.

"Books schmooks," Joan snorted. "You will never get better information than from an actual mom. Right, Bonnie?"

"That's right," Bonnie nodded.

"Okay," Jess agreed weakly. There was no use in arguing. Nick helped load up the car with their luggage, and they set off to the loft.

...

A few days later, Nick was at the bar and feeling overwhelmed. Both Bonnie and Joan were still there, and they had baby fever. They told stories. They did play by play examples of giving birth. They talked about baby names. They talked about education and politics and religion (children should have choices available to them as Bonnie put it). They talked about child illnesses and how to deal with chicken pox. They talked about all the first stages, teeth, and steps babies took. Nick had had enough.

"You look rough, man," Winston said, coming to sit down at the bar. Nick looked at him through his fingers.

"I can't do it anymore," Nick moaned. "The questions and the helpful tips and the information. My head is going to explode."

"You're not sweating as much at least," Winston pointed out.

"That's because I've sweat everything out in the first two days. I've got nothin' left in there," Nick commented. "And why, _why_ do they keep bringing up when our wedding is?!"

"Because you're dating and having babies," Winston answered logically.

"Can't we just have the babies and not get married?" Nick asked.

"That's because they're old school," Winston said.

"I can't tell them it's all a lie," Nick said. "I just can't. It will kill my mother, and Joan too. Then I'm dead cos Bob is gonna most definitely kill me."

"Do you want it to be the truth?" Winston asked casually. Nick looked at him.

"What?"

"Do you want to be with Jess?"

Nick paused here, wondering what play or trick Winston was doing.

"I don't understand the question," he said, detouring.

"Yes, you do," Winston said, pointing his finger at Nick and jabbing it in his direction. "Do you want to be with Jess? For real?"

"I 'unno," Nick shrugged. He started to slide away backwards.

"Nick! Come on," Winston said, banging his hand on the bar and making Nick jump.

"What?! How am I supposed to answer that question?" Nick demanded.

"With the truth," Winston said. "We aren't blind, Nick. We can all see you still are in love with Jess."

"Nah. No. Uh uh," Nick shook his head. "Nope. Nada. Zip."

"Okay, you've clearly lost the ability to use the English language," Winston sighed, getting up to leave. It was okay, though. He had gotten his answer without Nick even saying anything. He was off to find Coach. It was time to start the messaround. They just had to wait for Bonnie and Joan to be gone first.

...

"I think we could put decorations here," Bonnie was saying, gesturing. Joan was bobbing her head up and down in agreement. Cece walked in and noticed them.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, we're planning the baby shower for Jess," Joan said.

"Um, but I'm doing that," Cece said. "I was the one who invited you, remember?"

"Yes, dear, but I'm her mother, and I want to do this for her."

"But I'm her best friend..."

"I might not get another chance to do this, Cece. I'd really love to do it," Joan insisted. Cece felt frustrated, but she swallowed it down.

"Okay," she caved after a moment. "You can do it."

"Do we know the gender of the babies yet?" Bonnie asked as Cece walked away from them. "Am I doing blue or pink? Or am I just doing neutral colors? Are they waiting until birth to find out?"

"Oh my God," Cece said, going into Schmidt's room and closing the door behind her. "Do they ever stop asking questions?!"

"It's like Jeopardy out there," Schmidt agreed. "Can I have Name That Baby, Alex, for 500?" He was typing on his laptop on his bed.

"They took the baby shower from me," Cece said sadly. Schmidt bolted upright, his laptop sliding off his legs.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"Joan really wants to do it, so I let her," Cece finished. She sat down heavily. She had really wanted to do it too.

"No, no," Schmidt said. "They are not taking it away from me-us."

"Nice save," Cece snorted. "But you're still wrong. It's my shower."

"We've gone over this," Schmidt sighed. "If it can't be mine or yours, then it's ours."

"Okay whatever, but it's gone now," Cece said, flopping backwards onto her back on the bed. Schmidt was thoughtful.

"Not yet it's not," he said, getting up.

"Schmidt? Where are you going?" Cece asked. She was behind him instantly. He had the Bible of Baby Showers in his hand as he marched towards Joan and Bonnie.

"Hello," he smiled, flashing his teeth at them. "I heard you were interested in the baby shower."

"Oh, yes! I'm going to throw it for her," Joan said, smiling back.

"That's sweet," Schmidt said. "But here's the thing. Cece and I have been planning it since day one." He set the heavy book down on the coffee table in front of them, making them both jump.

"Wow," Joan said. "That's a lot of stuff in there." Bonnie peered through it slowly.

"If anyone is doing this shower, it's us," Schmidt said. "We've done everything so far, and Cece really has her heart set on throwing it for her best friend."

"Oh, honey, why didn't you just say that?" Joan asked her.

"I...I didn't want to upset you," Cece said timidly.

"Oh, dear. I'm not upset. I'm glad you love Jess so much and are willing to do this for her."

"T-Thank you," Cece stuttered. Joan pulled her into a quick hug.

"I hope you've got a good job that pays well," Joan said after. "Showers do cost money."

"Oh."

"I've got that covered," Schmidt jumped in. "My job is excellent with it's wages."

"All right then," Joan beamed at them. "It's all yours, kids."

"Shall we nip out and get some tea?" Bonnie asked her.

"Sure!"

Schmidt and Cece watched them leave together. He turned to her when they were gone and high fived her.

"I told you no one is taking this shower away from me-us," Schmidt corrected himself again. He gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting we're a team now."

"Thank you, Schmidt," Cece said, hugging him. He held her tightly back, breathing her in. He missed her so much.

"I should get to work," she said, pulling away after a moment. "I'll see you later?"

"Yes. I believe The Price Is Right will be on after dinner," Schmidt joked.

"Stop. You're so bad," Cece said, swatting him. He laughed.

...

A week later, Bonnie and Joan were ready to go home. It hadn't been a disaster. Nick and Jess kept it calm and cool, and Nick didn't give anything away, which was a new record for him. Then again, he stayed at work a lot to avoid them. Jess had fielded all the questions and held her own without him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Joan asked.

"I'm fine, Mom," Jess assured her.

"Cos I can."

"I'm fine!"

"Okay, okay," Joan said. She teared up before hugging Jess tightly again. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom."

"If you need anything at all, you call me," she said firmly.

"I will."

Joan went over to hug Nick next.

"You worked so much I barely saw you," she commented. He laughed nervously.

"I'm just working hard to save money for the babies," he said. She hugged him, and he prayed she didn't feel the sweat rolling off him.

"You take care of her," she said in his ear. "And for God's sake don't let her get away again, you hear me?"

"I hear you," Nick nodded.

Bonnie hugged them both next.

"Call me when it's time. I'll be on the first plane out here," she said to them.

"Okay," Nick promised.

"Bye!" they both waved to Joan and Bonnie as they disappeared around the corner to board their planes. Jess turned to look at Nick.

"I told you we'd make it," she smiled.

"I need a shower," Nick said, grimacing.

"We should make it look good in case they come back for some reason," Jess said. She took his hand in hers as they walked away, and Nick felt warm inside. He always loved holding her hand. He wished things would stay like this forever. When he looked over at Jess, he had a small feeling that she possibly felt the same way too.

* * *

**I still enjoy hearing feedback :) I hope you guys are still enjoying this story!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you, Guest, for your review! I feel this story has lost some readers, but that's okay. This chapter is gonna tug at you, just saying.**

* * *

Jess was feeling tired. She was now at 25 weeks of being pregnant, and she was feeling it.

"My bladder is a squeeze toy to these children," she complained. Cece was rubbing her feet for her. They were at the loft alone.

"You're over halfway there," Cece reminded her. "And twins come earlier, I read. 36 weeks I think it said."

"Eleven more weeks," Jess sighed. "I don't know if I can do it."

"You kinda have to," Cece chuckled. Jess laughed with her after a moment.

"I keep thinking about the birth," Jess admitted after a while. Cece had stopped and was sitting beside her on the couch at this point.

"Yea?" she asked.

"Yea."

"What about it?"

"Like, should I have my mom in there with me? Or Nick?"

"Who do you want in there with you?" Cece questioned. Jess thought hard.

"I don't know. I feel like Nick will faint, but they're his children, so shouldn't he be there?"

"You can always ask him," Cece suggested.

"Ask me what?" Nick asked, coming in then with a pizza box in his hands. Both Jess and Cece looked at him.

"Do you want to be in the delivery room with me when I'm giving birth to our children?" she asked. Nick froze like a deer in headlights. He hadn't thought about this. Why hadn't he thought about this?

"Nick?" Jess prompted.

"Uh...ahhh..." he said, stalling.

"It's all right," Jess nodded. "I get it. It's okay."

Cece knew it was not okay. She knew her friend wanted the father of her babies in that delivery room with her. She shot Nick a look.

"I made dinner," he said, holding up the pizza in his hands.

"I'm not hungry," Jess answered, getting up then and going to her room. Nick knew he'd blown it.

"Way to go, Nick," Cece said to him once Jess was gone. She left to go to work then, and she gave him a look as she passed him, hoping he'd smarten up and do the right thing.

...

"Okay," Coach said to Winston. They were sitting in Nick's bar together. "I think we've got it."

"This better work," Winston sighed. They had spent enough time planning it. It had been revised a lot from their original plan of involving water. They figured Jess might not appreciate getting wet after all. It was eight weeks after they pretended to be together for their mothers, and Nick and Jess had been a bit off around each other since, so they figured it was the right time to get the plan in motion.

"Oh, it'll work," Coach nodded. "It has to."

"Hey, boys," Cece said, coming in then for her shift. "What are you up to?"

"Just stuff," Winston answered. He and Coach did not want to risk their mess around getting blown. Thankfully, Cece did not ask anymore questions as she got behind the bar.

...

"I've upset Jess," Nick said to Schmidt after he came through the door. Schmidt stopped and stared at Nick.

"What did you do? What is wrong with you? You don't intentionally upset a pregnant woman!" Schmidt exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! She asked me if I wanted to be in the room with her when she's giving birth, and I panicked. I didn't say anything," Nick explained.

"Nick, you're the father. You gotta be in there," Schmidt said logically.

"I don't do well with that kind of stuff," Nick argued.

"They're your children, Nick. You are gonna have to do stuff and endure things for the sake of your children," Schmidt told him. "That's just the way it is."

"What if I faint?"

"Then you get picked up by a nurse and given some water," Schmidt answered.

"What if I faint again?"

"Then it's repeated."

"What if I throw up?"

"Why the hell would you throw up?" Schmidt demanded.

"Bodily fluids outside of my own make me gag and almost throw up," Nick reasoned.

"You're not gonna have your face right there when the babies come out," Schmidt said. "Just stay by her head, and you'll be just fine."

"Okay," Nick agreed. "Yea, I could do that."

"How the hell do you have sex then?" Schmidt asked, thinking about what he'd said about bodily fluids.

"That doesn't bother me," Nick shrugged.

"You're the biggest mystery there ever was, you know that?" Schmidt commented, moving to go to his room and change out of his suit.

**The Next Evening  
**

Jess had avoided Nick since the previous afternoon. She felt sad that he didn't want to be there with her when she gave birth. Then again, what did she expect really? Ever since they had pretended to be dating eight weeks earlier, she had felt off around him. They were careful to not touch or be alone together. Jess had a feeling Nick might be thinking about them getting back together for real, and she knew it wasn't a good idea. She heard the front door of the loft slam shut, and she wondered who had been there since she had been alone all afternoon. She went out to find a piece of paper sitting on the table by the door. Curious, she picked it up and read it.

_Really need to talk to you right now about my feelings. I'm on the roof at the loft, waiting. Nick._

...

Nick had turned his back for one second, but when he turned back, there was a piece of paper sitting on the bar top. Puzzled, he picked it up.

_Really need to talk to you right now about my feelings. I'm on the roof at the loft, waiting. Jess._

"Feelings?" he said out loud. He looked around the bar. Had Jess been there?

"What's up?" Cece asked, seeing him standing there.

"I gotta go," he answered, tucking the note away. Jess wanted to talk about her feelings? For him? He felt a rush of excitement. Had he been right after all in that he had not been the only one feeling things when they had pretended to be together?

...

"It looks like rain," Coach noted.

"Well, then the water part was meant to be," Winston commented. They were lying in wait for Nick and Jess to go to the roof. The plan was to shut them out there until they sorted things out.

"I hear someone," Coach whispered. They hid out of sight as Jess walked past and up to the roof. They heard her gasp after opening the door and stepping outside. About ten minutes later, Nick walked past them.

"Here we go," Winston said, moving to bolt the door shut.

"All or nothing," Coach agreed. They high fived.

...

Nick was taken aback by the roof. It had a table set up with dinner on it, and there was white Christmas type lights hanging and turned on. Roses were also spread around the rooftop.

"Wow," he said. Jess was smiling at him, sitting at the table already.

"Hi," she waved.

"This is impressive," he commented.

"I have to give you credit," Jess replied.

"For what?"

"For this," she gestured. "This is very sweet."

"I...I thought you did this," Nick said, frowning.

"No..." she shook her head.

"So, if you didn't, and I didn't..." Nick stopped suddenly. It dawned on him then.

"Winston," both he and Jess said at the same time. Nick went over to the door and tried the handle. It was locked.

"Hey, Winston!" he shouted. "The gig is up!"

"What gig?" Winston asked through the door.

"Whatever you're doing here," Nick answered.

"Just sit down and talk, Nick," Coach's voice came next.

"Coach?" Nick asked, surprised. "You're involved in this?"

"Stop talking to us and talk to Jess," Coach ordered.

"About?"

"You know what. Now get!"

Nick walked back to Jess and sat down across from her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I imagine it is something of a mess around," Nick answered. "I don't fully understand Winston's mess arounds."

"Well, he wanted us to both think that the other had created a romantic dinner," Jess thought out loud. "He hasn't exactly handled our break up all that well..."

"Neither has Coach."

"So this must be about us getting back together," Jess nodded.

Nick felt his stomach flip. How had it taken his two friends doing this to make them have this conversation?

"It must be," he agreed.

"They have the door locked until we talk?" she asked.

"Yea."

"All right. Then I guess we talk," she said. Nick swallowed before laughing nervously.

"So...who starts?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I mean, we decided it wasn't going to work, and having babies together doesn't necessarily change things. I thought we already agreed on that?"

Nick felt the disappointment then. Why had he thought her position had changed?

"Right," he nodded.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Jess said sadly. She could tell he was disappointed. She just didn't think them being together was going to work out. The reason they had broken up hadn't changed to begin with. She hated seeing him look hurt, so she stood to leave. It started to rain now.

"Winston? Open the door," she said.

"Are you two back together?"

"Yes," she lied.

Winston opened the door immediately, looking hopeful.

"Really?"

"No," she said, grabbing the door and yanking it out of his grasp. "Don't pull this kind of stunt again, okay? You can't force something that isn't going to work."

She pushed past them, and Coach and Winston looked over at Nick, who was sitting there looking desolate in the now pouring rain.

"I'm sorry, man," Coach said, going to join him. "We really thought it would work."

"How? How did you think this was going to work?" Nick challenged.

"We just had faith," Winston answered sadly.

"Well, there is no more hope or faith," Nick said, getting up to hurry out of there and leaving Winston and Coach standing in the rain. He was beyond crushed. Jess didn't want to be with him. Any remaining hope he'd had was now gone.

**Three Weeks Later  
**

Jess woke feeling guilty still. She had crushed Nick three weeks ago, and she knew he was still crushed. She had been staying with Cece to avoid seeing him. She got up now and went to find her friend reading a magazine on the kitchen table, sipping coffee.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Cece replied. "Sleep okay?"

"My back hurts all the time," Jess answered.

"I should say so, carrying twins around all day," Cece noted. Jess didn't say anything else as she set about making something to eat. Cece knew what had happened from Winston and Coach. She had berated them on such a stupid idea, and they had hung their heads.

"If you wanted it to get sorted out, you should have let it alone," she had scolded them. "It would have happened naturally."

She wasn't sure if she believed that in this moment since Jess had been pretty adamant she wasn't in love with Nick. Cece knew her friend, though, and she knew Jess was good at lying to herself. There might be hope yet so long as no one else tried to mess around with it. She shook her head at the boys' stupidity again. Her phone dinged, and she saw it was Schmidt.

**T minus two weeks until baby shower!**

She smiled to herself. That man was more excited about a baby shower than anything else it seemed.

"I'm dreading work," Jess groaned. "Standing is so hard."

"So sit down," Cece suggested.

"I can't sit all day."

"Well, then I don't know what to tell you," Cece commented. Jess was a bit grouchy with hormones lately. One minute she was happy and the next she was snarking.

"Is Nick still sad?" Jess asked suddenly.

"Why don't you ask him that yourself?" Cece countered. She knew Nick was sad. She saw him at work almost every day.

"I'm afraid of talking to him. I don't want to make it worse," Jess answered honestly.

"He's a big boy, Jess. He can take it."

"I don't think he can."

"You'll find out when you talk to him, won't you?" Cece said, looking at her.

"I will after work," Jess promised. Cece watched her friend leave then, and she hoped that whatever Jess had to say, it wouldn't send Nick over the edge.

...

"Where's Nick?" Winston asked Schmidt later that day.

"He's out walking," Schmidt answered. He knew Nick was having a hard time after Jess had definitely crushed all chances of being together again.

"I feel like this is my fault," Winston went on. Schmidt stared at him. Cece had told him what those two had done.

"You think?" Schmidt commented.

"We thought it would work. We thought they secretly wanted to be together but were hiding it," Coach reasoned.

"You never do a mess around when there are hearts involved," Schmidt lectured. "Never!"

"All right, all right. We screwed up," Winston agreed.

Schmidt scowled as Coach and Winston left him alone. He had hoped Jess and Nick would come to their senses about each other too, but he knew it would take time. His phone rang then, and he answered it.

...

Jess was walking out of the school at the end of the day, thinking about what she was going to say to Nick. She saw Cece racing up the sidewalk and frowned.

"Cece?" she called.

"Jess!" Cece shouted, running faster towards her. "Jess, oh my God."

"What? What's happened?"

"Jess, it's Nick."

"What about him? I'm on my way to talk to him, just like you ordered me to..." she started.

"Jess," Cece cut her off, grabbing her arm. "There's been an accident. Nick's been hit by a car."

* * *

**If you know my writing style or have read any of my other stories, then you'll know I write angsty stuff as well as funny stuff. **

**And before anyone comments, yes, Nick's mother was called first. More on that in the next chapter. Stay tuned to find out the outcome of this new situation!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the reviews! Hopefully this chapter will put you at ease a little ;)**

* * *

Schmidt had entered full blown panic mode as soon as the hospital had called him, looking for Nick's next of kin. When he had heard "accident," "hit by car," and "critical condition" all in one sentence, he'd almost blacked out. He'd called Cece immediately.

"Schmidt, I know the shower is coming up very soon," she had answered. "You don't have to keep giving me updates."

"Nick's in the hospital!" Schmidt shouted, freaking out.

"Oh my God, WHAT?!"

"Get Jess! We gotta get over there!" Schmidt yelled before hanging up on her. Winston and Coach came at the yelling.

"What's going on?" Coach demanded.

"Nick's been hit by a car! We gotta go!" Schmidt practically roared. He ran out of the loft with Winston and Coach right on his heels.

...

Jess almost fell as soon as the words left Cece's mouth.

"Nick..." she said faintly. "Nick..."

"Come on," Cece said, holding her up and helping her run to the waiting car. "We gotta get to the hospital."

Cece drove. Jess sat in shock, clutching her baby bump. Was Nick okay? Was he dead? Was he badly hurt? All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind. She reached to grab Cece's hand then.

"It's gonna be okay," Cece kept saying. "It's gotta be."

Jess didn't want to think about what would happen if things weren't okay.

...

Schmidt skidded into the nearest nurse as soon as he entered the hospital.

"Where's Nick?!" he shouted.

"Sir, you need to calm down," the nurse said.

"My best friend Nick is here. He was in a car accident. Where is he?" Schmidt demanded, gripping the nurse's arms tightly. She winced as she pried his hands off.

"Speak to the emerg nurse," she instructed. "She will know more."

Schmidt raced off to find said nurse, and Winston and Coach were right behind him.

"Nick...Miller..." Schmidt gasped, out of breath as he reached the emergency nurse's station. "Where...is...he?" The nurse looked at him.

"Are you his next of kin?"

"Yes. You called me. Schmidt," he answered.

"Right. Okay, have a seat."

"I don't want to have a seat! I want answers!" Schmidt exploded. Jess and Cece arrived at this point then, and Jess joined Schmidt with the nurse.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"And you are?" the nurse countered.

"He's the father of my babies," Jess answered.

"Unless you are his next of kin..." the nurse started.

"I am! I'm the next of kin!" Schmidt shouted. "Talk to me!"

Jess felt shattered. She numbly went to sit as the nurse tried to calm Schmidt down. Cece put her arm around Jess, crying herself. Winston and Coach were emotional as well.

"What if he's...?" Winston started.

"Don't," Jess ordered, pointing at him. "Don't even say it out loud."

Winston closed his mouth, nodding. Jess knew Nick couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. Life without Nick was unimaginable. Her heart gave a start at this. Was this what it took to get her to realize she was being an idiot about their relationship? How terrible was that?!

"Okay," Schmidt said, returning to them. "Nick's in surgery."

"He's alive?" Coach asked.

"For now. He got hit hard."

"What happened?"

"He was walking and a car hit him," Schmidt answered. "That's all I got."

"What are they doing in surgery?"

"Stopping internal bleeding," Schmidt answered. He imagined there would be more to it than that, but that's what the nurse told him to get him to go away and sit down.

"So what now?" Jess asked.

"We wait," Cece replied.

...

Everyone was on edge when the surgeon came to speak with them a long time later. Schmidt was on his feet instantly at the sight of him.

"Is Nick okay?" he asked, sounding afraid.

"Nick's in recovery," the surgeon answered with a small smile. "We stopped the bleeding, and we've fixed up his other injuries. He's going to be okay."

Cece and Jess started to cry in relief. Coach gave a cheer while Winston grabbed his head and exhaled in relief. Schmidt grabbed the surgeon into a bear hug.

"Okay, okay," the surgeon laughed. "He's in room 307 if you want to go see him."

Cece pulled Jess to her feet, and everyone went down to Nick's room. The relief in the air was immense.

...

Nick looked to see everyone come in, and he could tell they had all been through the wringer. It had been so stupid, what happened. He had been walking and thinking, and he hadn't seen the car coming at all. The last thing he remembered was flying through the air. The last thing he'd thought about was Jess.

"Nick," Jess said, grabbing his hand tightly. "Are you okay?"

"A little sore," he answered. He had a broken leg from the impact as well as a couple of broken ribs. They had punctured some things, which had caused the internal bleeding. They told him he had been lucky to not sustain worse head trauma. He'd had a mild concussion, but no swelling of the brain or anything, which Nick was grateful for. The surgeon had told him he was going to be okay but would need to take it easy in order to recover. Six to eight weeks he was told, but possibly longer. His right hand was wrapped as well since it had hit the ground first. It wasn't broken thankfully, just sprained. He had some cuts on his face too.

"You scared the hell out of us," Coach said angrily. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, guys," Nick said. "I honestly was just lost in my own head and not paying attention."

Schmidt bent to hug him then, tears in his eyes.

"I never want to get that kind of phone call ever again," he warned.

"I'll do my best," Nick promised. Jess still had a hold of his hand. She didn't want to let him go in case he disappeared. His accident was causing her to think of things she had long thought she'd buried.

"Your mom is on her way. She didn't answer her phone, which is why they called me next," Schmidt said. "I just told her you're okay. She's on the next flight out in half an hour." Nick just nodded. He knew she'd feel terrible for missing the call, but at least she knew he was okay.

Jess swallowed. This meant she had to pretend to be with Nick again. He squeezed her hand, knowing that was what she was thinking. After their talk about their relationship, he knew she would be struggling with that.

"Okay, okay," a nurse said, coming in. "Too many visitors. Only one of you can stay."

Everyone looked at each other.

"I'll stay," Jess said. No one argued. They all said their goodbyes and ruffled Nick's hair etc. as they left. Cece gave Jess a meaningful look before she exited the room.

...

"She wouldn't talk about their relationship, would she?" Schmidt asked as they went back to the waiting room. Cece inhaled and exhaled loudly.

"I don't know. She was pretty shaken by this whole thing."

"Enough to show she wants to be with him?" Winston asked hopefully. Even Coach perked at this.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Cece answered.

...

"I'm sorry," both Nick and Jess said at the same time. They laughed a little, breaking the tension.

"You first," she said.

"I'm sorry I scared you with this," Nick said, gesturing with his free hand.

"I'm sorry I said what I said," Jess blurted out right after.

"About what?" he asked.

"About us. About our relationship," she answered. Nick shifted, wondering where she was going with this, but in the end, he knew he couldn't count on her changing her mind just because he'd gotten hit by a car.

"It's okay," he said. "You are right. The only thing that changed about us is the fact we are having children together. We broke up for other reasons that haven't changed."

Jess was surprised at this. Had they switched sides on this topic now?

"Right," she said absently.

"I'm going to tell Mom we're broken up," Nick said. "It doesn't make sense to keep that up."

"Okay."

"We're gonna be good parents, Jess," Nick told her, smiling. She nodded, but inside she was crying. Almost losing Nick to death made her realize she was crazy for ignoring the fact she still loved him, crazy for thinking she could forget about it. He was on the flip side of things now, though. He was fine with them not being back together. Jess could have kicked herself for doing this. Why had she been so stubborn and stupid? She forced herself to smile back at him. She had created her own hell, and now she had to live with it.

**One Week Later**

"Schmidty, enough," Nick said as Schmidt ran around in front of Nick to clear a path for him to the couch. Nick was using crutches, but ever since he'd come home, Schmidt was on full time caregiving duty when he wasn't at work.

"I'm started to not feel needed," Bonnie laughed as Nick finally sat down beside her.

"He'd do it for me," Schmidt said.

Nick stayed silent at this. He knew he'd help out, but he knew he probably wouldn't do it this excessively. Schmidt had even offered to help Nick in the bathroom, for crying out loud. Nick had his boundaries, and it took some convincing, but he managed to prove to Schmidt he could pee on his own just fine.

"Right, Nick?" Schmidt pressed.

"Oh yea," Nick nodded. "For sure." He heard his mother chuckle to herself.

"I have to go to work now," Schmidt said. "Unless you want me to call in sick. I'll do it. I will. Just say the word."

"Go to work, Schmidt," Nick ordered, pointing at the door.

"Can I get you anything? Water? Food?"

"No, I'm good."

"I can take it from here," Bonnie promised. Schmidt looked reluctant, but he eventually gave in and went to work. It was just Nick and Bonnie in the apartment now. Jess was still staying with Cece.

"I think it's time we had that talk," Bonnie said, looking at Nick. He had told her in the hospital when they were alone that he and Jess weren't together and never had reunited. She had told him she'd have that conversation another day. Today was that day.

"Okay," Nick swallowed, starting to sweat already.

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" Bonnie asked.

"I just...I didn't want to disappoint you," Nick answered.

"I wouldn't have been. I know that's not the real reason, though. You might as well just tell me."

"All right, all right. Honestly? I really just thought that if we pretended to be together, then Jess would realize she still had feelings for me the way I did for her," Nick explained. Bonnie gave a slow nod of her head, listening.

"Did?" she prompted.

"Well, we had a big talk, and Jess said it was never going to happen. I've had to let it go."

"But I know you haven't let it go." She knew her son well.

"Not really," Nick admitted. He pressed his hands into his face. "Mom, I'm so messed up."

"Have you talked to Jess about any of this since your accident?" Bonnie asked.

"No."

"Maybe you should."

"Why? Did she say something to you?"

"She didn't have to. It was all over her face."

"What was?"

"Nicky, that's for you to figure out," Bonnie said, patting his good leg.

"Of course it is," Nick sighed. He knew he had to talk to Jess, and he knew that it was going to be a huge conversation. He just didn't know if he was ready for rejection again.

...

Jess paced outside the loft door for what seemed like a long time before she finally took in a deep breath and opened the door. She found Bonnie in the kitchen alone.

"Oh, hello," Jess said.

"Hi, Jess," Bonnie smiled. It was almost a sad smile, really. Jess wondered if Bonnie was angry at her.

"Is Nick here?"

"He just went for a nap. Poor guy is having some post concussion symptoms."

"I'm just glad he's okay," Jess said, sitting on the stool at the counter.

"You and me both," Bonnie agreed. She surveyed Jess carefully then, making Jess feel nervous.

"I'm sorry we lied," Jess blurted out.

"It's okay. Nick explained why. I'm not mad."

"Okay," Jess said, feeling a little relieved.

"So, you're having Nick's babies, and you're going to be co-parents. Are you going to be able to make that work?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course," Jess nodded her head vigorously. Bonnie leaned on the counter then, close to Jess's face.

"Am I wrong in guessing that you really still do love my son but are just burying it because you're scared?" she asked softly. Jess was taken aback. Bonnie was way too perceptive for Jess's liking, but she wasn't wrong. Bonnie watched her carefully as she waited for Jess to respond. Jess knew she couldn't lie, and truthfully, she wanted it out there anyway. She'd been kidding herself to think she could pretend.

"I'm terrified," Jess whispered, starting to tear up.

"It is terrifying when you love someone with your whole heart," Bonnie agreed. "You don't know what the future will hold, and you don't know if it's going to fail, but you'll never know unless you try. I think you two have that spark, and I think you just need to know how to control the burn so that it doesn't snuff out."

"Wow," Jess said admiringly. "You are really good at this."

"It's called being a Mom," Bonnie chuckled. "One day, you'll be good at this too." She reached and squeezed Jess's shoulder reassuringly before going off to lie down herself. Jess sat there alone knowing that she needed to talk to Nick the first chance she could, and she had an idea just how that conversation was going to go.

* * *

**Getting closer to what I know y'all are hoping for :D Just a couple more chapters to go now.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you, Guest, for your review! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

* * *

Jess had chickened out the next time she saw Nick. She had waited for a good opening, but it just didn't present itself, and then she felt awkward with Bonnie hovering. She knew Bonnie was waiting for the talk to happen too. Jess didn't know why, but she just froze. The words were right there when she saw Nick, but she choked on them every time. Then a week went by, and it was the day of the baby shower. Jess told herself that when it was over, she'd talk to Nick regardless of whoever was around. Bonnie was assisting Cece and Schmidt as they prepared. Joan had come early and was out with Jess, keeping her busy until it was time.

"I feel like I'm going to explode," Jess complained as they sat and ate ice cream together. Joan laughed.

"Well, you are 30 weeks pregnant," she pointed out. "With twins, may I add."

"Six to eight more weeks to go," Jess sighed, recalling what Sadie had told her about twins coming early. "What if they don't want to come out?"

"Oh, honey, they'll come out," Joan promised, chuckling some more.

"What if they're too premature?"

"They'll be just fine, Jess, I promise," Joan said, taking Jess's hand in hers then. "I've known friends who had twins early, and everything was just fine."

"I don't feel ready at all," Jess admitted.

"No parent does," Joan scoffed. "And if they do, then I'd love to meet them. It's not like a manual pops out after the kid does, you know. You have to figure it out as you go along."

"What if I don't figure it out?" Jess asked, fearful.

"You will," Joan assured her. "Don't forget you're not alone either. You've got Nick. You've got me. You've got your friends."

Jess nodded and smiled a little. She wasn't in this alone, she knew. It still didn't calm her fears, though.

...

"Okay," Schmidt was saying. "Okay, okay, okay."

"Schmidt," Cece said, sensing a panic attack coming. "Breathe."

"Okay," Schmidt said again with a different tone. "All right. Okay."

"Schmidt!" Cece said loudly, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him. "It's gonna be fine."

"What is a party without balloons?" he asked in almost a whisper. "What is it, Cece? That's right, it's not a party!"

"You really need to calm down," Cece told him.

"This has to be perfect," Schmidt went on. "I had a book and everything. I've spent months on this. How could I forget balloons?!"

"You didn't," Cece sighed. He looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"It was my job. I forgot them," Cece answered. "Go ahead, lop my head off."

Schmidt appeared as though he was having a massive internal battle with himself. He twitched his neck a few times, and the muscle in his cheek jumped quite a bit, but in the end, he gave her a smile.

"It's fine," he said. "Saves me popping them all later, and I really hate doing that job."

"You're suddenly just fine with no balloons?" Cece asked.

"Uh huh," Schmidt nodded. He hurried off to a different task he had to do while Cece watched, surprised. She had fully expected him to go full blown crazy on her. This was interesting. She decided to experiment.

"I forgot the cake too," she called to him. He stopped in his tracks, his back to her. She could only imagine what his face looked like.

"You...y-you what?" he asked, turning to face her finally.

"I forgot the cake," she repeated. If this didn't cause a full out Schmidt like conniption fit, then she didn't know what would.

"Cake is the essence of the party," he said, his tone dangerously low.

"I thought that was balloons," Cece pointed out.

"I didn't say that," Schmidt argued.

"You said it wasn't a party without balloons. To me, that means they are the essence of the party," she explained.

"No, no, no," Schmidt said, shaking his head. "There is a tier system involved in a party."

"Oh?" Cece asked, crossing her arms. This was almost too fun. "Go on."

"It goes: Person the party is for, guests, gifts (if applicable), cake, and then balloons," Schmidt described, ticking off his fingers.

"And food and drink?" Cece prompted.  
"Right after cake," Schmidt answered. He thought hard. What else had he missed? His brain was super frazzled right now.

"I see," Cece said.

"You forgot the cake," Schmidt said out loud, beginning to panic. How many other tasks had he given her? What else had she forgotten?

"Schmidt," Cece said. "The cake is in the car."

"What?"

"It's in the car. I was joking."

Schmidt grabbed at his chest as though he'd been shot.

"Don't you ever joke about forgetting something again!" he ordered. "Are you trying to put me in the hospital from a heart attack? Are you trying to kill me, Cece?"

"No," she laughed. "But I do want you to lighten up."

"Lighten u-? Okay, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," Schmidt said, going back to work. Cece rolled her eyes, still smiling, as she also went back to work setting up the party.

...

"I feel weird not being involved in the baby shower," Nick said. He was down at the bar with Winston and Coach.

"It's a women thing," Coach shrugged.

"But they're my babies too," Nick argued. "Shouldn't I also get to be showered with attention?"

"It's Jess's thing," Winston told him.

"But...guys don't get anything," Nick went on. "There are bachelor and bachelorette parties for a wedding. Why isn't there something for having a baby for guys?"

"What would you even call it?" Coach asked, thinking now. "A Bro Shower?"

"A Sperm Shower?" Winston said out loud.

"Come on," Nick said, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, a Baby Daddy Shower!" Coach exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"A Father of the Baby Shower!" Winston threw out.

"That's the exact same thing I just said," Coach told him.

"No it isn't..."

"Yes, it is. It's just a fancier way of saying Baby Daddy."

"No it's not."

"Guys, guys," Nick said, holding up his hands to stop them. "Stop."

"We should do something for Nick," Winston said to Coach, ignoring Nick.

"Yea!" Coach agreed heartily. "We gotta do something to welcome fatherhood."

"No. It's fine, really..." Nick started, but they started talking over him, and he gave up.

...

"You're what?" Schmidt asked into the phone. Winston had called him. "But...how is that even...?"

Cece watched as he listened. She wondered what was going on.

"Okay, well...I wish you had told me sooner. I want to be there," Schmidt said. "No, I can't just bail. I am hosting this shower. You know how important this was to me!"

He hung up, annoyed.

"What?" Cece asked, curious.

"Winston and Coach are throwing Nick a Dadchelor Party," Schmidt whined. "And I can't go."

"A what?!" Cece laughed. "Is there such a thing?"

"Yes! Dadchelor parties are real. They're also called Diaper Parties. Google it," Schmidt said, waving his hand at her.

"Wow," Cece said, pulling up her phone to do so. "Huh." They were a real thing.

"I can't believe I never thought of doing that for Nick for becoming a father," Schmidt went on. "What kind of friend am I?"

"So go," Cece suggested. "I got this."

"Um, no," Schmidt shook his head. "I'm not bailing on my baby sh-...I mean Jess's baby shower."

"Okay," Cece said. "Settle down."

She almost wished he would go. His uptightness was starting to get annoying.

"T-minus one hour, people!" Schmidt shouted and clapped his hands, making her jump.

"Shout at me one more time..." Bonnie said, poking her head around from the corner.

"Sorry, Mrs. Miller," Schmidt said meekly. Cece almost laughed out loud. At least he was afraid of someone.

...

"I feel ridiculous," Nick commented as he sat in the bar. Coach and Winston had found Tran sitting on his bench and invited him and they had gotten a hold of Robby, Cece's former boyfriend, who seemed to still enjoy hanging around the group for some reason. They couldn't round up any other guys on such short notice, so they settled to party just the five of them. Tran remained his usual silent self, but he was grinning as he drank his beer.

"Congrats, Nick," Robby said. "I didn't even know Jess was pregnant."

"Thanks," Nick said. He felt awkward.

"Put this on," Coach ordered, handing Nick a diaper.

"Um, no," Nick shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"So what else do we do for this?" Winston asked. "I mean, we didn't get any gifts."

"Beer's on us, buddy," Coach said to Nick.

"Thanks? I work here. I get free beer anyway," Nick snorted. He felt so uncomfortable.

"We could do a beer crawl," Winston suggested.

"At one in the afternoon?" Coach asked as he shoved the diaper onto Nick's head. Nick had done his best to fight him off, but Coach was strong. Tran snorted in laughter.

"We could just go buy a bunch of diapers," Robby said. "I mean, this is a Diaper Party after all, right?"

"A what?" Winston asked.

"A guy's baby shower," Robby answered. "A Diaper Party. Or a Dadchelor Party, whichever you prefer."

"Dadchelor Party?!" Coach exclaimed. "That's perfect!"

"I am fine with just sitting here and drinking," Nick said, shrinking in his seat as people in the bar stared at him. Coach kept slapping his hand away when he tried to take the diaper off his head. He didn't even want to know where Coach had gotten it. It smelled clean at least.

"If you say so," Winston nodded. "To Nick!"

"To Nick!" the rest, except Tran, shouted.

...

Jess had to admit she was very impressed with her baby shower. Schmidt had outdone himself. And Cece, of course. She stood beside her mother, feeling a bit shy suddenly. The crowd included her colleagues from work and some of her other friends.

"You sit here," Schmidt said, leading her to a throne type chair. He'd spent hours on that.

"Okay," she agreed, sitting down in it. Cece sat beside her, pen and paper at the ready to document the gifts. She was surprised Schmidt had allowed her to even have that job.

"Okay, Schmidt," Joan said, patting his arm. "We can take it from here."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Men don't typically attend a baby shower," Joan said.

"It's fine, Mom," Jess said quickly before Schmidt could respond. "He can stay."

"Thank you, Jess," Schmidt said, glaring at Joan before throwing his party smile back on.

Jess just wanted this over with. She didn't like a lot of attention on her, and she definitely got tired quickly of people touching her baby bump. She did, however, love opening gifts. She got a lot of wonderful presents from everyone. Cece's hand grew sore from writing so much. When that part was over, Schmidt declared it was time for cake.

"I still can't believe you're having a baby, let alone twins," one of Jess's colleagues said.

"Aha!" Schmidt shouted, leaping into her face. "Hand them over."

"Damn it," the woman grumbled, handing over her mini clothes pegs. The rule was you couldn't say the word "baby" or "twin," and she had said both. Schmidt gloated as he walked ahead of Jess towards the cake. He had about twenty or more clothes pegs all over him.

"I'm pretty sure you can't win your own prize," Jess said to him.

"I don't make the rules, Jess," Schmidt pointed out. He looked over at Cece, who had only one clothes peg. He was planning on giving it to her anyway if his plan failed. He smiled to himself.

Everyone commented on the cake. Schmidt had gone great lengths to get one that was perfect. Even Cece had been impressed. Who didn't like cute, baby bunnies? They resembled twins, of course. Schmidt did things right.

"If I'm ever pregnant," Cece said to him as they stood to the side. "I want you do throw my shower."

"Yea?" Schmidt asked, looking at her.

"Yea," she smiled. She reached to squeeze his hand, and he felt warm inside.

"I'd throw you a baby shower ten times better than this," Schmidt promised.

"You said the B word!" Cece shrieked excitedly. She began yanking off all his clothes pegs and putting them on herself. Schmidt smiled at her. That had been the plan all along anyway. Then she went to join Jess. Schmidt wondered if there was hope yet for the two of them to get back together. He'd put it on the back burner since Jess became pregnant, but it was always there in his mind still.

...

"I didn't do anything and yet I'm exhausted," Jess said after the party was over. Schmidt, Cece, Bonnie, and Joan were cleaning up. They ordered her to sit, which Jess didn't argue with. Her feet were killing her.

"Aw man," Schmidt said, looking at his phone. He'd been sent a picture of Nick and the others in the bar.

"Is that a diaper on his head?" Cece asked, peering at it over his shoulder. She was still giddy at winning her spa day, and she had an inkling that Schmidt had let her win all his clothes pegs on purpose.

"We can finish here if you want to go join them," Bonnie said.

"You really don't mind?" Schmidt asked.

"Go for it," Joan gestured.

"Thanks!" Schmidt said, beelining for the door as fast as he could.

"Of course he doesn't insist on staying for clean up," Cece snorted.

"Ohhh..." Jess said, grabbing herself.

"Jess?" Joan asked, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"I...I think so," Jess answered. Another ripple of discomfort went through her, and she winced.

"Could be Braxton Hicks contractions," Bonnie said, going over to Jess and putting her hand on Jess's belly.

"Have some water," Joan said. Cece ran to get a glass for her.

"How do I know the difference?" Jess asked.

"Braxton Hicks are not consistent and usually cause more discomfort than pain. Real contractions are consistent and get more intense while causing pain," Bonnie explained.

"Shift your position," Joan said, going over to her as well. "That sometimes helps make them stop if they are Braxton Hicks."

Jess felt a bit frightened. What if they were real contractions? It was too early.

"Maybe I should go to the hospital?" she said, looking at Bonnie and Joan.

"Let's just wait before we do that. If they feel like real contractions after a while, then we'll go," Joan promised. She squeezed Jess's hand tightly in hers. She knew her daughter was worried. Jess desperately hoped she wasn't having her babies yet.

...

Schmidt burst into the bar just as Nick and the others were wrapping up.

"I missed it?" he asked, disappointed.

"Sorry, Schmidty," Nick said, slurring a little. They'd drank a lot of alcohol. He didn't know if he should be drinking that much so soon after his accident, but it was too late now.

"Next time," Coach promised.

"Next time?!" Nick exclaimed. Two babies were enough for him.

"There could be a next time," Winston insisted.

"I don't even know if I will be a good father to these babies let alone the next batch," Nick said. His mind was feeling fuzzy. He knew he shouldn't have drank so much.

Tran clapped Nick on the shoulder and gave him a nod.

"I know, I know," Nick said. "I'm gonna be all right. Thanks, buddy."

Tran left then. Robby had already left a half hour earlier.

"I gotta go lie down," Nick said. He was getting a headache.

"To Nicky!" Coach cried. Winston and Schmidt raised a glass too. Schmidt had gotten himself a drink. Nick waved his hand as he walked out and headed for home. He was astounded that he was able to use his crutches so well while being so intoxicated.

...

Bonnie gave her son the eyebrow when he came into the apartment reeking of alcohol.

"Hi, Ma," he waved, smiling.

"Had fun, did we?" she asked.

"Sure did. Where's Jess?"

"She's lying down," Bonnie answered. They had gathered her contractions weren't real since they had stopped.

"I gotta talk to her," Nick said. Bonnie went to grab his elbow.

"Not drunk you're not," she argued. "If you're going to have that conversation with Jess, you're going to be sober for it."

"I know what I'm thinking," Nick replied.

"Sleep it off, Nick," Bonnie said. "Then talk to her." She knew they needed to talk, but she didn't want it to be this way.

"All right, all right," Nick agreed. He hiccuped then. He made it to his bedroom and closed the door.

"Our children are idiots sometimes, aren't they?" Joan commented, coming to stand beside Bonnie.

"They'll figure it out," Bonnie told her. The two women smiled at each other. They knew it was just a matter of time.

* * *

**The Talk is happening in the next chapter, I promise! Thanks for reading! Almost to the end, guys :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you, Guest, for always reviewing. I'm glad this story is still getting read.**

* * *

Nick woke up with a massive headache. He groaned, wishing he had not been so stupid with his drinking the day before. He reached around for his alarm clock with his hand, slapping random objects and knocking things onto the floor before he found it. He squinted at it.

"AH!" he shrieked. He flipped and rolled and struggled out of bed, reaching for his crutches. He hobbled out of his room and into the hallway. It was almost noon. He was going to be missing his doctor's appointment too if he didn't hustle.

"Nick?" Bonnie called, hearing him banging about in the bathroom. "Are you all right?"

"I gotta be at the doc's in less than an hour," Nick said back. "I slept in!"

"I'll drive you," Bonnie said.

"Thanks, Ma."

Nick went fast, and he was in the car showered, dressed, and wolfing down a pop tart in less than twenty minutes. Bonnie kept looking at him as they drove.

"What?" he asked after the fifth look.

"Do you remember what you wanted to do when you came home last night?" Bonnie asked. Nick frowned, thinking.

"Sleep?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. Nick thought hard. What had he wanted to do? Bonnie had kept her mouth shut as Jess left with her mother that morning to drop her off at the airport before going to work. It wasn't her place to say anything.

"I don't know," Nick said. "I don't remember."

"Hmm, okay."

"What?"

"Nothing," Bonnie answered. She felt frustrated with her son then. It was all she could do to not cuff him for being ridiculous. Instead, she kept her hands on the wheel and dropped him off at his doctor's.

...

"I'm scared, Cece," Jess said, wringing her hands. It was after the work day, and she was at Cece's place. She knew Bonnie was waiting for her to talk to Nick, and she just couldn't do it.

"What is scaring you about it?" Cece asked. She knew they were referring to Jess talking to Nick about their relationship.

"What if he changed his mind? What if he did move on?"

"What if he didn't?" Cece challenged.

"Not helping," Jess pointed out.

"Look, Jess, you gotta just take the leap," Cece said. "Tell him."

"But is it real? I mean, he almost died, so was that just me freaking out and being like, 'Oh, Nick could have died! You have to love him!' or is it because I really do love Nick?"

Cece resisted smacking her friend upside the head.

"Jess, we all know you love Nick."

"You do?"

"Yes! It's pretty obvious," Cece pointed out.

"Like you're still in love with Schmidt?" Jess countered. Cece blushed hard.

"No," she lied.

"Aha! I knew it!" Jess cried.

"We are not deflecting onto me here," Cece said, giving Jess a look. "You need to talk to Nick. Properly."

"I decided to wait until after the babies were born," Jess said, wincing.

"What?! Jess!"

"Well! If he can make it through labor and childbirth, then he can make it through a relationship with me."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Cece snorted.

"No, it isn't..."

"Let me put it to you this way," Cece interrupted. "If you don't tell him by the end of this week, then I'm telling him."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Give me two weeks," Jess bartered.

"One week," Cece replied firmly. "Final offer."

"All right, fine," Jess caved. Cece gave her a triumphant look, and Jess knew that when this was over, it was going to be her turn to give Cece a deadline to tell Schmidt about how she felt.

**One Week Later**

Nick walked into the apartment knowing that it was the time to talk to Jess. They'd missed each other a lot the past week, and Nick was feeling it was intentional. Tonight was the night. They were talking even if one of them started dying during the process. Well, that was a bit drastic, but Nick was serious. He sat, waiting. He was glad his mother had gone back home. She would have made him even more nervous.

"What are you doing?" Schmidt asked, coming into the loft then.

"Get out," Nick ordered, pointing with his crutch.

"What?"

"Get out! OUT!"

"Wait, I'm confused," Schmidt said, looking around. "I live here."

"Schmidty, I need you to get out," Nick ordered.

"But why?"

"STOP ARGUING WITH ME, AND GET OUT!"

"But..."

"GET OOOOUUUUUUUT!" Nick practically screamed like a banshee, his voice all high pitched.

Schmidt reacted as though he'd been slugged in the chest. He fell against the door and scrambled to find the knob. Once he located it, he opened the door and fell through it, slamming it behind him.

...

Jess saw Schmidt coming towards the elevator looking frazzled and a bit pissed.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I don't know. Nick's lost his damn mind. He doesn't even say hello. I open the door, and he's screaming at me to get out," Schmidt answered.

"Oh," Jess said. She had an idea as to why. She had t-minus 5 hours to talk to Nick before Cece did. She chastised herself for leaving it so close to the end.

"Good luck," Schmidt said to her. Jess didn't say another word as she turned to walk towards the loft door. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. This was it.

...

Winston was watching Cece carefully as she worked the bar. He was finished meddling with Nick and Jess, but he was just getting started on Cece and Schmidt. He wasn't as oblivious as people thought he was sometimes. That and he had heard Jess ranting about it when she shared how mad she was that Cece was going to tell Nick when Cece should be talking to Schmidt, or something to that effect. Winston had gotten a bit lost in the vent fest, but he did catch that Cece had feelings still for Schmidt.

"What?" Cece asked him, noticing he was staring.

"Oh, nothing," Winston answered. He sipped his beer casually then. Cece narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's not a nothing look," she pointed out.

"Sure it is."

"It's not."

"Bloody hell," Schmidt said, coming in then. He was annoyed, and he slammed his bag down on the bar top. Winston watched Cece's face carefully as she saw him. There was a hint of red in her cheeks, and her eyes did brighten. This was going to be easy.

"What happened?" Cece asked.

"Nick just kicked me out of the loft seconds after I went in," Schmidt answered. "You'd think I had the Black Plague or something."

"He's going to talk to Jess," Cece said, realizing.

"Huh?" Schmidt asked, looking at her.

"Jess and Nick are finally going to talk about their relationship," Cece said excitedly. Schmidt was frozen in place for about five seconds.

"Well, then what are we doing sitting down here?!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Easy, cowboy," Cece said, reaching to grab his shirt and yank him back down into his seat. "They don't need any eavesdroppers."

"Right," Schmidt nodded. "Right."

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall in there, though," Winston mused. They both nodded in return.

...

Coach opened his eyes to discover that he was not alone in the loft. He had gone down for a nap after coming home from work because those kids wore him out. He woke up upon hearing Nick shout at Schmidt, and he didn't want to get yelled at, so he stayed quiet. Now, he was listening to Jess come into the loft and talk to Nick. Eyes wide, he sat by the door and listened.

...

"Hi," Jess said, seeing Nick sitting and waiting for her.

"Hey," he said back. She finished coming inside and taking off her coat and setting down her purse. She made her way over to where he was sitting and stood in front of him.

"Well, sit," he urged. "Sit."

She sat. Nick had to hold himself to stop from falling into her from the weight of the babies and her bringing the couch cushion down suddenly.

"Sorry," she said, realizing.

"It's okay," he laughed nervously. Then they sat side by side, twiddling their fingers.

"So," she said.

"So," he nodded.

"You first," Jess said. Her words were all jumbled in her head now.

"All right," Nick agreed. "Look, you know how I feel about you. It hasn't changed. I know you basically said back on the roof that there was no chance, but I just feel I gotta give it one last shot, you know? What I said in the hospital after my accident...I didn't mean that. I know we broke up and those reasons haven't changed, but are they that big of reasons that we can't figure it out?"

Jess felt the tears in her eyes. Of course they weren't. They could figure out anything together. She wished she had realized that sooner.

"Oh, Nick," she said, reaching for his hand and holding it tightly. "I was lying to myself. Ever since I got pregnant, I kept thinking that it wouldn't change things, but it has. Nick, it has. I just was scared that if we tried again and failed, this time we have children to think about."

"I never wanted to break up in the first place," Nick said. "It just got out of control, and then I didn't now how to stop it."

"I didn't want to break up either, and when it got too far, I didn't know how to go back, but when Cece told me you'd been hit by a car, I realized how crazy I was for denying us being together. The thought of losing you for real was so devastating, and I knew then I had to tell you. I just...didn't know how."

"Neither did I," Nick laughed. "But here we are now."

"So, what are we doing?" Jess asked.

...

"Coach is in the loft!" Cece hissed, showing Winston and Schmidt his text message.

"What?" Schmidt asked, shocked.

"No way!" Winston laughed.

"He says it's sounding positive!" Cece squealed.

"Yes!" Winston fist pumped. Then he high fived Schmidt and Cece.

"Come on," Cece said. She gestured to her coworker to take over before leaving the bar and going to sit outside the loft door with Schmidt and Winston. They all craned their ears.

...

"We're doing this," Nick answered, smiling at Jess. "Us. If you're game." He sounded unsure, and Jess hated that she had made him feel unsure because of her own stupidity.

"I'm game," she nodded, smiling back.

"Wow," Nick said then. "I'm...I'm just so overwhelmed. We're doing this."

"We're doing this," Jess agreed, laughing a little. She pulled him into an awkward hug, thanks to her enormous belly. Then he put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her.

"I love you," she said when he stopped.

"I love you so much," he replied, kissing her again. Jess almost cried from relief. She wished she hadn't wasted all this time fighting what she knew was supposed to be.

"YYYYYYEEEEESSSSSSS!"

Nick and Jess jumped apart, startled beyond belief as Coach rushed in and crashed into both of them, throwing his arms around them both and hugging them hard.

"Coach!" Nick shouted. "What the hell?!"

"I'm so HAPPY!" Coach cried. "Guys! Come in! They're together again!"

"Wait, what?" Jess asked, craning her neck. The door blew open, and Cece, Schmidt, and Winston clambered in and piled onto the group hug.

"You guys," Schmidt said, ruffling Nick's hair. "I love you guys."

"About damn time!" Winston said.

"I knew you could do it," Cece said to Jess, hugging her friend tightly. Jess caught Nick's eyes, and they both smiled at each other. They were beyond lucky to have not only each other but to have friends like theirs. He found her hand among the tangle of the others', and he held it hard.

"You and me," he mouthed.

"Me and you," she mouthed back. It was as it should have always been, but Jess was just grateful she'd been brave enough to finally be honest with him and that he was right there waiting. Not everyone was as lucky. She closed her eyes, taking it all in. Everything was perfect.

...

Schmidt walked Cece to the elevator after the evening of celebrating was over. He had been doing some thinking since it seemed Nick and Jess had worked things out. He knew his relationship with Cece had been complicated and he'd hurt her greatly, but he felt there was still something there.

"What?" Cece asked, looking at him.

"If Nick and Jess can figure it out..." he started slowly. "I'm just wondering what other relationships out there could also be figured out."

He looked at her, and she knew he was talking about them. She gave him a slow smile.

"Well, I guess time will tell, won't it?" she asked. The elevator had arrived then, and she stepped onto it. Schmidt shared one last smile with her before the doors closed. He walked back to the loft with a good feeling in his chest.

**Five Weeks Later **

Jess was having a hard time sleeping. Nick was curled behind her, his arm around her as best as he could. They had started sleeping together again since they agreed to get back together. Jess just enjoyed the company of him in the bed with her. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him.

They had had a good evening together. Jess had started her maternity leave, so she was working on some final touches since the babies were due very soon. She was starting to feel excited that any day now, she was going to see their babies and hold their babies for the first time. Nick was getting excited too even though his fear of twins was still there a little bit. They had opted not to find out the gender of the twins, so that was also exciting.

Jess eventually fell asleep, but after a while, she woke up. She realized that it was pain that had woken her up. Her clock said close to four a.m. now. She'd slept for about five hours.

"Oh," she said out loud. She froze. Was this it? After a bit, the pain came again. She sat up, holding her belly. When the pain came a third time, she just knew.

"Nick," she said, reaching to find him. "Nick!"

"Urghhywha?" he groaned. Her hand connected with his face then. "Aha! What? I'm up." He sat up beside her.

"The babies are coming," she answered.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "The babies are coming!"

"Okay!" Nick cried, jumping out of bed as though he'd been set on fire. "Okay, okay, okay!"

"Nick, calm down," Jess ordered.

"The bag," he said, tripping over things to get it. They'd done up the "go bag" a week ago. "Got it!"

"Nick..."

"Car seat!"

He bolted from the room to find it. Jess managed to get to her feet just as another contraction hit.

"Oh, wow," she said, gasping. She breathed through it, but she knew it was just the beginning. They would get more intense and more frequent.

"Nick!"

"Stroller!" Nick shouted, pounding past the bedroom door.

"What's going on?" Coach asked, coming out of his room then.

"The British are coming, the British are coming!" Nick shouted, flying past him.

"What?" Coach asked again, sticking his head into Jess's room.

"He means that the babies are coming," Jess corrected. Nick didn't think straight when he was both tired and stressed out.

"The babies are coming?!" Coach yelped.

"Yes!" Jess laughed.

"WINSTON! SCHMIDT!" Coach screeched, racing to wake them up. "THE BABIES ARE COMING!"

Jess called Cece, whose shriek pierced her ear. She made her way to the common area where Nick was losing it and Winston, Coach, and Schmidt were running around trying to remember what all they needed to take and have with them.

"HEY!" Jess shouted, making them all stop at once. "You all need to calm the heck down. I'm going to the car now."

All four of them raced to help her, to hold the door for her, to help her get her coat and shoes on, and to carry the go bag and car seat down. Jess called her mom on the way to the car, and her mom promised to let her dad and Bonnie know. They'd fly in later to see her and the babies.

"We got this!" Schmidt shouted as Nick helped Jess into his car and he ran around to the driver's side.

"Are you okay to drive?" Jess asked him as he started the car.

"Yes," he nodded. "I'm good." He shook his head and took some breaths to make his point before putting the car into gear. The others had all piled into Schmidt's car to follow them and were waiting.

"We're having our babies," Nick said as he drove. He felt panicked but also suddenly okay. He looked at Jess, who smiled back at him.

"Yes, we are," she agreed. Their lives were never going to be the same, but they were ready for it.

* * *

**One chapter left!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Last chapter! Happy reading everyone!**

* * *

Schmidt, of course, was the first one to the nurse sitting behind the pane of glass.

"We're having a baby!" he shouted, skidding to a stop. The nurse looked at him and then around him.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"We are having a baby," Schmidt said again. "Actually, two babies. We are having two babies."

"There's no one behind you," the nurse commented. Schmidt whirled to see she was indeed correct.

"Hang on," he said, bolting back for the door. Nick and Coach were helping Jess get out of the car still.

"Oh," Jess was saying as another contraction hit her. Her water had broke in Nick's car, which she felt bad about despite Nick repeatedly telling her it was okay. She'd called Sadie, who told her she would meet them there.

"Come on!" Schmidt urged. "We gotta get in there!"

"Schmidt, relax," Winston said. "It's not like there's a crowd of pregnant women in line to have a baby."

Cece arrived then, having managed to get dressed and out the door in record time. She had no make up on, though, but Schmidt still thought she looked radiant.

"I can't believe this is happening!" she cried, reaching to squeeze Jess's shoulder.

"Have someone wring your uterus inside and out and kick a few times before throwing it against a wall and then you'll believe it," Jess grunted in reply. That was just one description she had for the contractions.

They made their way to the nurse, who nodded as she saw Jess.

"Okay, darlin'," she said, going around to get a wheelchair for Jess to sit in. "How far between your contractions?"

"Eight minutes?" Jess said. She really wasn't sure. "I woke up with pain, so I think I started labor while I was sleeping, but I don't know exactly when." The more she thought about it, the more she realized that what she had thought to be gas pains before going to bed were probably contractions. She felt embarrassed for not figuring it out.

"It's all right," the nurse assured her as she helped her into the chair. "Has your water broken?"

"Just now in the car," Jess answered, feeling bad again. Nick gave her a reassuring look.

"Okay," the nurse said. "Let's get you into a room."

Everyone stepped forward, making the nurse give them all a look.

"Who is the father?" she asked, eyeing them all up.

"I am," Nick answered, holding up his hand.

"Okay. You'll have to rotate visiting since there are so many of you. During birth, only the father is allowed to be there. After, I will let you all in only once to see her and the baby. Then it's back to rotating. There can't be so many of you in one room at the same time."

"Babies," Schmidt corrected. "They're having twins."

"Well," the nurse smiled. "Isn't that joyful."

"Uh huh," Jess nodded in pain. Nick put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"We got this," he promised.

Jess sure hoped so.

...

Schmidt paced while the others sat and waited. After almost eight hours, Jess was finally in the birthing room. Her parents and Nick's mom were going to be there soon, having left not long after Jess had called them.

"I can't believe Jess and Nick are going to be parents," Winston commented. He was lying on his back in the chair and looking at the ceiling.

"I know," Cece said. "Things are going to be so different now."

"We are their aunt and uncles," Schmidt said importantly. "We have to be good role models for them."

"I'm a good role model," Coach said, offended.

"You eat cereal from the box like an animal," Schmidt retorted.

"Only when it's almost empty. Why waste a bowl?" Coach countered. Schmidt made a vomiting noise in his throat.

Nick appeared then, looking disheveled and both scared and excited.

"Shh!" Cece said, smacking Schmidt in the arm to make him stop imitating throwing up.

"We got a boy!" Nick cried.

"Oh my God!" Winston replied, ecstatic.

"I gotta go back," Nick said. "But she's doing great, and we got a boy!"

They laughed and hugged each other as Nick went back to the delivery room.

"I hope they name him Winston," Winston said. Schmidt shot him a look.

"Why, so you can make him go by Miller?" Schmidt asked. Cece and Coach gave them both a look, which was ignored.

"What have we missed?" Joan asked, appearing with Bob then. The conversation between Schmidt and Winston had been forgotten quickly as everyone hugged and shared the news that there was a baby boy.

"Remember when Jess was born?" Bob asked Joan as they got settled into the chairs.

"Ha, yes. She refused to come out. I was in labor for almost 30 hours."

Cece almost choked upon hearing this. She didn't think she could do that.

"I'd love to have a baby one day," Winston mused.

"I'm on the fence," Coach admitted.

"We got a girl!" Nick cried, coming back then after about twenty minutes and interrupting them all. Everyone whooped and hollered again.

...

Jess was exhausted. She was so glad it was over, and she was even more glad that Nick had kept his head on and was able to help her through giving birth without freaking out or fainting. How could she have doubted him?

"Wow," Nick said now as they waited to hold their babies. The nurses were checking them over and getting them ready for them.

"I know," Jess nodded.

"You were fantastic," Nick said to her. "I mean, I would have lost it, but you...you were so good."

Jess had wanted to lose it a few times, but she knew she had to keep it together for the babies. Nick bent to kiss her then, and she smiled.

"Here we are," the one nurse said, bringing over their son. The second nurse brought over their daughter.

"Good job, guys," Sadie said, beaming at them. "I knew you could do it."

"Thank you, Sadie, for helping us every step of the way," Jess replied.

"Oh wow," Nick said as he was handed his daughter to hold. Jess was handed their son, and she couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling.

"I'll come back to check on you in a bit," Sadie promised. Jess and Nick held their children and felt very awestruck.

"Can you believe this?" Nick asked her.

"No," she laughed, shaking her head. "We did this. We made these perfect little babies."

Nick felt like he was going to cry. Jess openly cried because she couldn't keep it in anymore. It was such an emotional time.

"Five minutes," the nurse said at the door before letting everyone inside. Bonnie had arrived by then, and she was standing with Joan and Bob and smiling at Jess and Nick.

"Oh my God, you guys," Cece said, coming over and putting her hands over her mouth in awe.

"Can I hold one?" Schmidt asked.

"Sure," Nick nodded, handing over his daughter. Schmidt immediately started to cry.

"What are their names?" Coach asked, leaning in to see their daughter. Jess and Nick looked at one another.

"Aaron Robert Winston and Bronwyn Cece Joan," Jess answered.

"Oh," Bonnie said. "Nick."

"I know," Nick smiled. He knew his mother's full name was Bronwyn, that she'd gone with Bonnie because her family had called her Bonnie forever. He and Jess liked Bronwyn, though, for some reason.

"You did great, honey," Joan said, leaning to hug Jess before taking Aaron from her. Jess and Nick watched their friends and family pass around their children and talk and laugh and coo with each other and at the babies.

"Our family," Jess said to Nick quietly.

"It's amazing," he answered, nodding. She eventually grew tired, though, and the nurse returned to tell everyone to give her time to rest. She couldn't wait to get home and start their life with their babies.

**A Few Days Later **

Jess and Nick managed to not go crazy after coming home with their babies. Schmidt, Coach, and Winston all helped as best as they could as did Cece when she came to visit, which was often. Nick's room was turned into the babies' room, but Jess and Nick both realized that before long, they'd have to find a place of their own. It was a step for another day, though. For now, they'd make do.

"We did it, Nick," Jess said to him as they stood and looked down at their now sleeping babies.

"Yes, we did," Nick agreed. He put his arm around her. They were so perfect looking, so innocent. He wanted to keep them safe forever. He never wanted anyone to hurt them. Now he knew how his mother must have felt after he was born.

"I wouldn't have wanted to do this with anyone else," Jess told him, turning to look at him then.

"Me either," he replied. "We make a good team."

"Is this how you saw your life?" Jess asked, curious. Nick gave a small laugh.

"No," he answered truthfully, "but I wouldn't have it any other way."

She smiled, and he kissed her. She couldn't have agreed more.

**16 Years Later**

"And that," Nick finished. "Is the story of us." He looked at Jess, who was smiling. Aaron and Bronwyn were sitting cross legged on the floor, staring at them both.

"So, if it weren't for us, you wouldn't be together?" Bronwyn asked.

"No, no," Jess shook her head. "I fully believe that regardless, your father and I would be together. You guys just moved things along faster."

"I agree," Nick nodded. "I would have never stopped loving her." Jess gave him a loving look in return.

"And what about Aunt Cece and Uncle Schmidt?" Aaron questioned. "How did they get back together?"

"Oh, that's a long story," Jess dismissed. "You'd be better to ask them about it."

It had taken almost a year and Cece to go climb a damn mountain before realizing she wanted to be with Schmidt still apparently.

"How did Dad propose?" Bronwyn prompted.

"On one knee in the middle of the grocery store," Jess answered, laughing.

"I'd had the perfect thing planned out," Nick argued. "But it just wouldn't seem to work. So I said the hell with it and just asked her."

"Did it involve the roof?" Aaron wanted to know.

"Yea," Nick nodded.

"So in a way, Uncle Winston and Uncle Ernie's messaround helped you guys too," Aaron pointed out.

"Eh, sort of," Nick shrugged.

"No, Aaron," Bronwyn said. "The car accident is what did it."

"Okay," Jess interrupted. "No need to argue over what helped and what didn't help us get back together."

"You better get your homework done," Nick said. They "awwwed" and "ooohhhed" about it before getting up slowly and heading to their rooms. Nick and Jess were left sitting side by side, thinking.

"You do believe we'd be together if I hadn't gotten pregnant, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Nick nodded. "It might have taken a few years, but I firmly believe we would have figured it out again."

"I love you," Jess said.

"I love you too," he answered. Then they kissed.

"Oh, gross!" Aaron yelped, having come back for his phone.

"Ah get used to it," Nick said back. He grabbed Jess and faked a make out session. Jess played it up with him. Aaron ran shouting from the room as they laughed.

"Kids," Jess said, sighing. She was smiling, though. She knew all about not wanting to see adults being lovey dovey with each other.

"I gotta run. Schmidty wants to have a coffee with me."

"Okay," Jess nodded. Nick waved before he left, and Jess smiled once she was alone. They'd kept in touch with their friends over the years. They still had fun together and played True American. They still knew who they could call if they needed a friend. They were lucky, and Jess was grateful that they were so lucky.

Yes, things had turned out just perfect, and Jess wouldn't change a thing.

**The End**

* * *

**Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited, and followed. It's always bittersweet when I finish a story. I apologize for taking almost a year to do it. **

**P.S. I did Google, and apparently Bonnie can be a nickname for Bronwyn, which is why I did that. Anyway, until next time, folks!**


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